What is Love?
by Sarroush
Summary: A heartbroken Lucy is unexpectedly sent to Edolas. Will her heart be mended or remain broken? A Lucy/Knightwalker fic taking place between the Edolas and S class arcs. Includes yuri. *Epilogue posted. Sequel in planning stages.*
1. The Pain In Her Heart

**A/N**_**: ***Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters*_

Also: Will include some mild yuri.

* * *

_Robe of Yuen, huh? __Erza really looks-__..._Lucy was snapped out of her daze by Erza's commanding voice. "Lucy! Don't just stand there. Help out!"

"R-Right!" The two mages had decided to undertake a job together. It was fairly simple. Eliminate the bandits outside Magnolia. Since they usually went on jobs as a group of 5 recently turned 7, this was a good opportunity for them to spend some time together. This was the perfect opportunity for Lucy to show Erza how much she had improved as a mage. She took out Fleuves D'etoiles and turned to face a few of the remaining bandits Erza still hadn't cut. She charged with her whip, slashing one's chest, surprisingly knocking him out in the process. Seeing what she had just accomplished, she forgot where she was and looked to Erza for praise.

"Stupid girl, your back is wide open!" a bandit roared. Lucy turned just in time to see Erza stop the bandit's blade and fiercely kick him some meters away.

The redheaded mage turned around to face Lucy who looked down in shame. "I'm sorry," the younger mage whispered.

"Don't ever let your guard down, Lucy. I might not be there next time." Erza spoke firmly. Quickly requipping into her Heaven's Wheel armor, she eliminated the remaining bandits and returned to the blonde.

"Come on. Let's head back. I'll treat you to some strawberry cake with the reward." Erza said as she requipped back into her Heartz Kruz armor. Lucy couldn't help but laugh and reply with "Don't you mean treat yourself to some cake?"

Erza let out a laugh as well as they headed back. Seeing the S-class mage beam with happiness brought flutters to Lucy's stomach. She loved seeing Erza happy. But a big part of her always hoped she could be the only reason for said happiness.

When Erza noticed Lucy was walking slower than usual, she glanced down at the latter's feet, noticing an injury. It had probably happened during their fight.

The redhead called out to her, but Lucy was clearly in her own little world. She saw Erza looking at her leg. "This? Don't worry about it. It looks worse than it actually is," the younger mage was clearly trying to convince herself more so than Erza.

The redhead didn't buy it. She could see Lucy was in pain, which is why, to Lucy's surprise, she carried her, bridal style.

_...This...am I dreaming? Our faces are so close...Her eyes. Her lips. Her neck. They're all..._

"..-cy...u-cy...Lucy...can you hear me?" Erza was trying to get her attention.

"Huh? I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Was Lucy's response.

Sighing, the older mage said, "No, I was just checking if you're alright. Close your eyes, and rest for a bit. I'll wake you when we've arrived."

"Eh? Ah, no, don't worry about me. I'm fine." Lucy said, as her blush became increasingly stronger.

"Oh, it's my armor isn't it? Hold on a second." Erza requipped into her regular clothes, for Lucy's comfort. "Is this bett-..." She looked down as she was speaking, and saw Lucy's eyes were closed and she looked at peace. "I guess it is." Erza whispered to herself.

_Erza...So soft..._ Were Lucy's last thoughts as she drifted to sleep in Erza's strong arms.

* * *

"Uuhh..." Lucy stirred as she began to wake up. Looking around, she noticed she was in her room and her leg was bandaged. Gently smiling, she concluded that this must have been Erza. She slowly got up, changed her clothes and headed to the guild.

* * *

"Lu-chan!" She saw Levy sitting at the bar waving to her.

Lucy got to her in a few long strides. While sitting down, she asked Mira for a cold drink, to which the older girl replied "Right away!"

"Lu-chan, are you alright? That seems pretty painful," Levy said with concern showing.

"Nuhuh," Lucy shook her head. "It's not as bad as it looks, though it does burn sometimes."

"Maybe you should have Wendy look at it," Levy's face was clearly filled with worry. This was a girl who had been one of Lucy's closest friends, whom she felt comfortable talking with about nearly anything. She wondered if Levy would be able to help her with her dilemma. Was it even a dilemma? Shaking her head, she continued the conversation.

"It's alright. She's busy as is so I don't want to burden her." Lucy replied, with a big smile. She could manage. It stung and hurt but it wasn't so painful that she couldn't walk. She'd be fine in a few days. Or at least she tried convincing herself that was the case.

"Here you go, Lucy. Wild berry smoothie." Mira said as she placed the glass down.

While taking a few small sips, she heard the names "Jellal" and "Erza" repeated several times in quiet whispers.

"Erza must be heartbroken. Losing both Jellal and Mystogan..." Levy said. To which Mira nodded, while Lucy played with the straw in her glass. Maybe asking Levy for advice wouldn't be such a good idea. If Levy believed Erza only had eyes for Jellal...

'_That's right. Erza probably loves him..._' Shaking her head, she tried to change her thoughts, but to no avail. '_There is no way I can compete with a man. There is no way I...Huh? What's this wetness...?' _ Her thoughts stopped dead in their tracks as she touched her face, only to realize she was crying.

An instant later, Erza arrived at the guild, her eyes dead set on the new strawberry cake the bar had received.

"Lucy?" Erza grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her so they could face each other. Slowly placing her hand on Lucy's cheek, the older mage tried to calm her down. "It's ok, Lucy. Talk to me. What's wrong? Is it your leg?"

Lucy shook her head and wiped her eyes. She didn't want to burden anyone with her senseless one sided love. Especially not the object of her feelings. Life was nothing like in the movies or novels. At this point, she had stopped believing in "Happily Ever After" or "One true love".

"It's nothing. Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine," she was vehemently wiping her eyes. Erza looked at her, sceptical, wondering if Lucy took all S-Class mages to be fools.

"You're coming with me," she said firmly as she did another bridal carry, to not put any pressure on the blonde's injured leg. The tone in her voice left no room to argue, but Lucy couldn't help it.

"E-Erza?! Put me down! Please! I told you I'm fine." Lucy tried to free herself from the redhead, but stopped the moment she saw the glare on her face.

"Enough." One word. Who knew that a single word could hold so much power? Lucy was at a loss. She stopped moving, and rested her head on Erza's shoulder. No longer caring about who saw her, she let her tears flow freely. Erza stayed quiet through her entire walk to the girl's apartment, her mind trying to understand Lucy's tears. Was it truly just her foot? Was there more to it? She hated seeing Lucy in shambles.

* * *

Roughly ten minutes later, she told Lucy that they had arrived. The blonde motioned to be put down in order to open the door. Erza declined, forcing Lucy to rummage through her pockets while in Erza's arms. Once she found the key, she opened the door. Erza put her down on the bed, took off her shoes and started removing her bandages.

Sparks ran through Lucy's body as Erza gently touched her leg. Her face became red. Erza looked up and noticed her flush. "Lucy? What's wrong?" She moved closer to the blonde, having their foreheads touch.

_Wha..what..what?! She's too close! Erza's too close! _

As Lucy was about to enter fantasy land, Erza drew back.

"You don't have a fever...Maybe you're just tired", the redhead assumed.

Erza washed Lucy's leg with a damp cloth, and when she was going to apply a new set of bandages, Lucy spoke.

"Erza...is there anyone you like?"

Erza shot up in surprise. She never expected to be asked such a question. '_Someone I like?'_ She thought to herself. She looked at Lucy, who had a dark expression on her. It wasn't anything malevolent or bad. The best way to describe it would have been depressed. The redhead wondered what Lucy was really trying to get at. Therefore, she thought of an appropriate response.

"Lucy...is this about someone you like?"

Lucy looked at her somewhat perplexed, but in the end came to the conclusion that Erza was not as foolish as some of her other guild mates. She nodded silently. She had had these feelings for quite some time. If she were to put a time stamp on them, it would have to be...Yes, that's right. When Erza protected the guild and made it clear how she had no intention of selling Lucy out to Phantom Lord. And then, her feelings became stronger when Erza was kidnapped and taken to the Tower of Paradise... Lucy had to admit that was a bit...no, it wasn't ironic, it was just plain odd. It was the fact that Jellal, someone who Erza clearly cared for...maybe even loved, had been the mastermind behind it all.

The redhead couldn't help but smile. Lucy liked someone! She wanted to know who. She wanted to help her even if she barely had any experience in the art of love. She finished with the new bandages and joined Lucy on the bed. "Talk to me. Who's this mystery person?"

'"_It's you, Erza!"' '"What? Really? Oh Lucy! How I love you too!"'_ Lucy vehemently shook her head and thought to herself _: 'That would NEVER happen. Stop having weird fantasies. You sound like Juvia.'_

"I don't think you know them", was her only quiet response. There is no way she could tell Erza how she really felt. Not with the fear of being rejected.

"Hmmm, alright," Erza knew she knew who Lucy's crush was. It had to be someone from either their guild or an allied one. But if the girl didn't want to give names, she wouldn't force her. No matter how much she wanted to know. '_Damn it, Erza! Control yourself! If she doesn't want to tell you, don't push her!'_ Shaking her head, she recomposed herself. "What's the problem?" Erza let out.

"Well..." Lucy began fumbling with her fingers, "I like them, but they clearly like someone else," she said looking sadder than before.

'_So that's what this is about...' "_Well, I guess I'd react the same way if Jellal had someone else he liked..." Erza looked at Lucy, and then realized she had accidentally said that out loud. "Eh? Ah, did I say Jellal? It just slipped! I wasn't actually talking about hi-...Lucy?" Lucy was smiling. With tears in her eyes. Tears that wouldn't stop.

"I'm sorry. I've been crying a bit too much these last few days." She wiped her tears as best she could, her mind punishing her by repeatedly going "I told you so! I told you so!" She wore her boots and told Erza she was going out for a bit. The redhead didn't even have any time to stop the blonde.

Erza was left alone in Lucy's room. She let out a heavy sigh and got up to leave; however, a large stack of drafts caught her eye. Given her curiosity, regardless of her morally right or wrong actions, she took a peak. She did not expect what she read.

At first glance it was a fairly simple story about a princess shackled by her king's rules, forced to live a pre-set life. The King had decided to put her under the watch of a female knight. He was against the idea of giving her a male she could possibly fall in love with. This knight was valiant, chivalrous, courageous, strong, and very protective of her charge. She was her "knight in shining armor". She was perfect. The princess and the knight unknowingly fell in love. Something no one, not even they, had expected. The two decided to run away. Two women couldn't possibly get married, especially given the time they were in. They couldn't have children either. Their union would have proven useless. Something like that just didn't happen. As they ran, they had to face a countless number of assassins and soldiers sent to retrieve the princess and kill the knight.

'_Eh?'_ Erza continued reading, and stumbled upon the part that got her attention the most. On their journey, they both had to deal with issues from the past. One of them was a black mage, one the knight was acquainted with. They used to be very close friends. Even though they were slaves as children, they were still very happy just being near each other. The knight fought the black mage to protect the princess. Eventually, the knight found out that the black mage had reformed himself and had become good. He was saving others and helping rebuild villages. The princess saw how happy the knight was at this. Every time the reformed mage's name was mentioned, the knight's eyes would sparkle and she would smile. She would dream of him. She would think of him; to the point where the princess began to realize that she was not the one the knight truly loved. This caused the princess an immense amount of pain.

Erza stopped reading. She understood. Lucy's tears. The meaning behind them. They were her fault. She was the one causing her pain. How could she be so dense?! The way Lucy looked at her, talked to her. That...You didn't look at a friend like that._'Lucy...I need to apologize. I've been such a fool.' _ Hoping she hadn't lost too much time, Erza ran out to find Lucy.

* * *

As she was running down the streets of Magnolia, a massive light came from the direction of the forest._'What? That...that looks like...'_

Without wasting any more time, she ran as fast as she could to the scene. Worry coursed through her. Why was _that_ in the sky? Hadn't they dealt with it?! Hadn't Mystogan stopped it?! She hoped she was just seeing things. She silently cursed at the thought of something happening to Lucy.

She got to the core of the forest. Someone was on the ground, face down.

"Lucy?! Lucy! Is that you?!" Erza ran towards her. Her clothes were different. Her hair was a bit shorter. But it was Lucy.

"Lucy! Lucy, please wake up!" Erza was shaking her. What if she didn't wake up? What if she never woke up and it was all Erza's fault? Could she have dealt with the guilt? No. Lucy was fine! She was fine and they were going to go back to the guild in the morning and everything would be fine once more.

The redhead turned the fallen girl on her back.

"What? You..." Erza's eyes were wide with surprise. She should have expected such a development.

The blonde slowly opened her eyes.

"Wha...where am I?" She held her pain struck head, throwing a glance at Erza.

"K-knightwalker?!" She quickly got up to her feet, fear and confusion running through her. "No...You look different..." As though an innate instinct, she understood. "No way! You're Earthland's Erza aren't you?!What are you doing in Edolas?" she wondered, tilting her head.

"...I should be asking you that," Erza said, weary but confused.

"What? Wait. You can't be serious...don't tell me I ended up in Earthland..." Erza nodded. "Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Edo Lucy let out a scream loud enough to wake up all of Fiore.

"I don't have time for this right now. I need to find Lucy!"

'_I didn't really talk to Erza much, but...Why does it seem as though she'll break, if she can't find the other me?'_

"Have you seen her?!"

The short haired blonde shook her head.

'_Damn it Lucy...Where did you go?!'_

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**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated**.**

Note: This has been reuploaded. I will be putting this note at the end of each chapter I've reuploaded. If you don't see this, it means the chapter hasn't been rewritten. I'll write it here too : I'm not rewriting the plot or the development. Just adding more depth & descriptions.


	2. The Misunderstood Knight

**A/N: **Here's chapter 2. If there are some awkward parts or scenes that don't make a lot of sense, please let me know.

Thanks for the reviews, they were much appreciated!

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"Captain! Hurry!" A soldier called out behind him.

"There had better be a good reason for this training halt," the captain replied, clearly annoyed. How dare her training regime be interrupted? Someone wanted to get hacked into pieces that much was obvious, and she was going to give it to them. No one messed with her training. They ran to the deepest parts of the forest, where she was conducting rigorous military training. In the middle of said forest lay a blonde haired girl. From what the captain could discern, she was clearly unconscious.

"It's Lucy Ashley!" One of the soldiers yelled, to which the captain's annoyance skyrocketed. Ashley?! The nerve of that fairy! She really wanted to get killed!

"What is Ashley doing here?! Fairy Tail and the Royal Army working together does not give her the right to mess with my training! And I JUST got reinstated!" The captain was extremely close to ripping her to shreds, even if it meant she'd lose her job again. It didn't matter. Ashely was eating at her time. That stupid fairy acted like she could just go wherever she pleased with no consequences. The blonde be damned! The king be damned! His orders be damned! Erza would have her way this time.

The soldiers could see their captain was fuming. It had been 6 months since they lost magic. All of Edolas was helping rebuild the kingdom thanks to the new King. However, this did not mean that the Royal Army and Fairy Tail were on friendly terms. No. That was not entirely correct. Nearly everyone in the Royal Army had come to friendly terms with Fairy Tail. Aside from the newly reinstated Erza Knightwalker. This hadn't come as a surprise given she had killed nearly half of the mages in Fairy Tail herself. That was not something easily forgiven. Or at least that's what she had convinced herself. Knightwalker didn't seem to mind. She would forever be loyal to the Kingdom, regardless of what the amateur King or anyone said. She kicked the blonde to wake her.

"C-captain...maybe you should be a bit gentler..." one of the soldiers said in a whisper.

Knightwalker turned towards him with a look meant to kill. "Say that again, soldier," she let out through her teeth. Gentler? Ha! This child clearly did not know what Erza had in mind. How she was going to slowly cut the blonde until she begged for forgiveness. Damn those fairies! Always getting in the way! She had to admit that might have been a bit too violent, but she was angry damn it! This woman thought she could mess around with everything the redhead did! The soldier shook his head rapidly to which the captain sighed. On second inspection of the blonde, Knightwalker noticed something was a bit off.

'_Her clothes aren't as revealing.' _This had caught Erza's eye, as Ashley was known to wear skimpy outfits and pounce around everywhere. Knightwalker kneeled when she noticed something was shining. '_Keys?'_

"I wonder when Ashley got a tattoo on her hand," the soldiers had begun to murmur. Argh! Why?! Why now?! They should have been training! Not looking down at this pathetic girl wondering what she had drunk the night before to land her here!

"What do you think happened to the one on her arm?"

"Maybe she painted it?"

"Don't be stupid. That wouldn't work!"

Knightwalker was irritatingly listening to her soldiers in training when it came to her. The blonde in front of her was wearing fairly tame clothing, had multiple keys, and no tattoo on her arm; instead she had one on her hand. Her hair was longer than Ashley's too. Given the latter tended to cut her hair these last 6 months whenever it got too long, something Knightwalker had no intention of repeating.

_This girl...She can't be..._ The soldiers noticed that the captain's annoyance had dimmed considerably and was replaced with composed curiosity.

"First Lieutenant, training continues. I'll take the girl back to the Royal Palace." She heard a few complaints to which she offered a frightening glare. One that had them shut up in an instant. They were still green! What right did they have to complain about training? Joining the Royal Army wasn't all fun and games!

"If you don't want to train, then get lost. I don't need useless soldiers under my command," she tried keeping her voice low, but irritation had gotten the best of her. Sighing heavily, she took the girl in her arms and went to her horse. Being away from those under her, she calmed down surprisingly fast. Looking at the sleeping girl, she laughed to herself, noting how uncharacteristically knightly this was of her.

"Mmm..." The girl had begun to stir. "...Erza," she whispered as she stuck closer to the captain who froze in place, her heart beating very fast and very loudly. She wasn't used to this type of contact. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself. '_If she is in fact the Lucy from Earthland, then she's probably dreaming about Scarlet.' _"Heh," Knightwalker muffled. '_Probably? Did I actually consider that she might be dreaming of me? The same person who tried to kill her so vehemently? Probably is an understatement. She is most certainly dreaming about Scarlet._' The captain let out a sigh of disappointment. She wasn't sure why.

She decided to walk back to the Royal Palace instead of taking the horse. It wouldn't take that long and she needed to get things sorted in her head anyways. Occasionally, the blonde would stir, as if waking up, which would have Erza stop on occasion but in the end she didn't wake.

* * *

Once she reached the Royal Palace, the girl was taken from her and sent to the doctor for a quick check-up. As she was walking to the armory, Erza sensed someone had been following her. She stopped, sighed and spoke, "Coco. Enough with the following. What is it you want?"

The young girl ran up in front of her. "I-I-Is it true?!" The young girl had a habit of being overly excited whenever something noteworthy happened in the palace. Erza didn't blame her of course, since the past few months had been pretty uneventful. However, her over the top excitement would occasionally annoy the knight. Especially when Coco always assumed Erza knew or even cared for what was going on most of the time.

"Is-what-true-Coco." Coco tried to hide herself. When Erza spoke this way, it was obvious that she was not happy. But she couldn't help herself! The rumors! If they were true, she could see her again!

"Is the princess back?!" Coco said excitedly, trying to calm down. She didn't want to anger Erza, but she was too eager.

'_Princess?'_ "Who are you talking about?" Erza asked, confused. The least the girl could do was be precise!

"Lucy! Earthland Lucy! The Princess!" Coco said, unable to control her excitement anymore at seeing an old friend of sorts.

"She's a princess?" Erza wondered out loud to which Coco merely nodded very fast.

"She's being checked right now, since she was found unconscious in the northern forest. You can go see her if you want," Erza exhaled. Even though Coco was trying her best to calm down, her best wasn't much at all.

"I will! I will!" The young girl called as she began to run to the medical wing.

Erza continued to the armoury, all the while, trying very hard to ignore the whispers of maids and soldiers.

"Hey, don't you think Captain Knightwalker has been very agitated lately?"

"I know, right?! It's scary."

"Feels like she'll snap at any moment!"

"Maybe she's going through withdrawal?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's killed a lot of people in her life. Suddenly not being allowed to raise her spear at people?"

"So what? She wants to kill?"

"I doubt she's that dark. Maybe it's the lack of magic."

"We all have the same problem. She's not the only one without magic."

"And what's her problem with Fairy Tail? All of us made up aside from her."

"Maybe she wants to betray King Jellal for exiling King Faust!"

"Well, she WAS very loyal to Faust..."

"So? She should grow up. She's acting like a child."

"Maybe she's jealous?"

"Of what?"

"Fairy Tail. Since they have a lot of the King's attention now."

"So she wants King Jellal's attention?"

"Hey, hey! What if she has a crush on the king?!"

"Whaaat?! No way! That would be so weird!"

Erza started walking faster. Faster, faster, faster until she reached the armory. She went in, slammed the door behind her and fell to the floor, holding onto her knees. '_You are a Knightwalker. Keep it together. There is no reason for gossip like this to bother you. They don't even know anything about you.' _She shook her head. She would not let this get to her. She was part of a powerful lineage of warriors. If she took offense to these rumors, her ancestors would roll in their graves. She would be shaming her family! She was better than this. Erza Knightwalker would not allow those idiots to get the better of her. Idiots who had barely done anything for the country. They didn't even deserve being under her limelight. She got up, grabbed her Ten Commandments –albeit, it needed a name change given the lack of magic - and went to destroy some straw men.

* * *

A while later, she left the training grounds rather sweaty. As she was walking back to her quarters, she noticed the kind old doctor leaving his office.

"Ah, Captain Knightwalker. About the girl you brought in," he waited until Erza was closer to continue, "she's perfectly fine. I'd say she went through a lot of stress the past few days and her body just needed a good amount of rest. She's awake if you wish to see her."

"Thank you, doctor," was Erza's curt reply, as she headed to the girl's room. It's not like she cared for the girl. However, their past encounter wasn't exactly on a friendly note, and she wanted to know what someone from Earthland was doing in Edolas. How she had ended up there and why. Was she planning something? Was it all just an accident? If her presence posed a danger to the country, she would eliminate her without a second's notice. Stopping in front of the door, she heard Coco's typically loud voice speaking in awe.

"- and she carried you all the way here! Apparently, she looked really cool! I wish I could have seen it!"

Coco turned to the door as she heard it open. "Ah! Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you, Erza!"

"That seems to be the case. You are Earthland's Lucy, correct?" Erza asked the one thing bugging her the most at the moment. Lucy nodded.

Silence. There was an awkward silence in the room. Lucy was conflicted. This woman, even though Erza, had tried to kill her on their previous encounter. And yet, there was something attracting her to the older woman. Was it the love she had for Scarlet? She wasn't sure. However, she wasn't the only one conflicted. Erza had no idea how to act in front of the same person she was trying to kill a while back. Why did she care how to act anyways? She had just told herself she would kill the girl if needed. So why was she questioning herself?! Before she could say or do anything, the door opened and the new King of Edolas walked in.

"Lucy, it's been a while," Jellal said cautiously but happily as he walked to the right side of the bed. Erza didn't like him. He had taken Faust's position and started giving out orders left and right. Took her job from her, regardless of the fact that he gave it back! Who did he think he was? His face alone drove her mad. The celestial mage looked at him with a mix of hatred and jealousy. At least, that's what Knightwalker concluded. She knew that look all too well. It was the same one she'd given Fairy Tail, the new king, and her counterpart.

"...Lucy? Hey, it's alright. It's just me, Mystogan," as if snapped out of a daze, Lucy held her head and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Mystogan. I just thought you...-" Before she could continue, Jellal gripped her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," he said as he smiled. "There's something I want to ask you." The situation was fairly curious, and it was entirely understandable that the King would want to know whatever it was that was going on in his domain.

"I don't know. If your question is how I got here, the answer is I don't know...All I remember is that I was walking outside, saw something that looked like anima, ran towards it because I was worried and then I woke up in this bed..." Lucy looked down, disappointed that she couldn't remember much else.

"It's alright," Jellal looked at her and smiled. "I don't think you'll be going anywhere today; so, care to join us during dinner?" As he said this, Lucy's stomach grumbled and everyone, excluding Knightwalker, laughed.

"I think that's a yes!" Coco said as Lucy blushed.

"Erza, could you bring her over during dinner?" The King got up, glancing at her.

"Why me?" Erza did not want to babysit. She wanted to go take a shower, change, grab dinner and go eat outside. She wanted to be alone, with no Earthland mage stuck to her side.

"You're the one who brought her here! She's your responsibility!" Coco said, happily. Erza looked at Coco, with intent to pierce her. The nerve of the girl. As though she had a choice in the matter! Ok, she did have a choice. She could have told one of the soldiers to take her to the palace. Then she would have been their responsibility. But something kept nagging Erza to take her herself. And whatever that something was, it would have made her crazy if she hadn't listened to it.

"Now, now. I said Erza because having a familiar face Lucy doesn't want dead would be nice," He had a feeling Lucy didn't like Earthland Jellal all that much, which Knightwalker had picked up on earlier. Jellal also wasn't one to pry, so he decided against asking her why she didn't like his counterpart. However, for some reason, Erza wanted to know. She agreed to see the younger mage to dinner, after a much needed shower.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism is much welcome.

Note: This chapter has been reuploaded.


	3. Her Fragile Pride

Well, here we are. Chapter 3!

Thanks for the reviews you guys! They mean a lot!

***Lariie**, aside from the fact that I am now your goddess (which is massively flattering and I will try not to disappoint you :P) I thought updating once a week would be too slow, so that wasn't my intention, but apparently rough draft becoming a decent draft, adding parts, removing parts, fixing parts, tweaking things and the final touches actually took roughly a week! So I guess this will be weekly updates. Hopefully I dont encounter a writer's block.

***Anna**, I grammar check 200 times with all the rereads I do :P Thanks though! If there are mistakes, feel free to point them out.

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Coco and Jellal left the room; one to help with the preparations and the other to bathe.

The blonde and the captain were alone in silence for quite some time. What were they supposed to talk about? They used to be enemies. Erza was out for her head! How were they to start a conversation? The redhead decided to wing it and spoke, the silence bothering her, "You're pretty dirty, what with being covered in dirt and all that. I'm sure you want to take a bath, right?"

It was awkward. Erza wasn't one for casual conversations, let alone asking someone if they wanted a bath, which she found to be something very personal. Asking someone else felt very intimate. She looked away for a while not sure how to act. Lucy quietly snickered. Knightwaker's behaviour was unexpected, reminding her more and more of her crush.

Erza heard the snickering and blushed severely. Was she laughing on her?! Laughing on THE Erza Knightwalker? Who the hell did this girl think she was? No. Erza was probably reading too much into it. No one would be stupid enough to make fun of her. She got up, shook her head and said "If you're coming, then move it" as she looked away, forcing herself to forget exactly how bathing together would be 'intimate'.

Lucy smiled a bit before saying "I'm coming."

However, the moment she got up and off the bed, sudden dizziness hit her and she became wobbly. Before she could say anything, she began to fall. Just as she was about to hit her head on the bedside table, two strong arms caught her. "Be more careful," was all Erza said with an indifferent look on her face as she helped her up. Of course, deep down she kept wondering why she did it. She should have let the girl fall, hit her head, possibly die so they could throw her body in the ocean and get back to their everyday uncomplicated lives. Ok, something was clearly wrong with her thought pattern. As she was going to try justifying her misplaced anger, the girl in her arms spoke.

"Thank you," a quiet whisper came out of the blonde as she held onto Erza's arms. The redhead noticed that Lucy could barely move. She remembered what the doctor had said about her having gone through a lot of stress in the past few days. Sighing inwardly, she quickly contemplated what to do, and came to a decision that went against her previous disturbing thoughts.

"Eeeh?! Erza!? I can walk! You don't need to-"

"Shut up", was all the redhead said as she began to carry her bridal style to the bathroom.

Lucy suddenly remembered how Scarlet had carried her the same way only a little while ago. She had no idea if she should laugh at the resemblance or cry, but her tear ducts decided in her stead. Tears began to form in her eyes as she held onto Knightwalker tightly. Her carrier looked at her but didn't say anything. What could she say? No one had any idea what the girl was doing in Edolas. She was completely alone and probably afraid. Not like Erza could blame her. She'd be afraid too, if the person who was carrying her was the same woman who had tried to kill her some months prior. She tightened her grip on Lucy subconsciously as she continued on to her destination.

* * *

Once at the changing room, gritting her teeth in random frustration, she quietly told Lucy that they had arrived. Why was she annoyed? She couldn't put her finger on the reason. She had been fine a few moments ago! Not to mention, she was surprised. She was one with a commanding voice. Why was she being so gentle with this girl? She shook her head, concluding that she had a soft spot for vulnerable beings- which was rare enough. She slowly put Lucy down on her feet, and that feeling of frustration or irritation or whatever it was just vanished. What the hell was going on with her today?! It was probably the lack of training. She didn't have time to whoop her soldiers enough. Taking a deep breath, she told herself to relax and stop being so agitated.

"Can you undress yourself?" Why did she ask? Was she going to undress her herself if she said no? She decided to stop questioning herself. Sooner or later, if she didn't stop, she'd end up pulling at her hair.

"I think so," was the blonde's response; however anyone, including Erza, could see that she was still wobbly.

Sighing, Knightwalker decided to undress her. Remember! No asking questions! She put as a mental note, but Lucy rejected the offer saying that she was fine and she'd join her in a bit. Erza nodded, grateful that she didn't actually have to touch the girl any longer, told her to be careful, undressed and went to bathe.

She would have a few moments to herself. Sitting down on a stool, she turned on the faucet and drenched her hair. _'Erza, you're just exhausted. You've barely slept ever since you got reinstated and your mood is everywhere. After the bath, go eat and then head straight to bed. You'll deal with all this Earthland nonsense when you wake up, refreshed.'_ That's right. All she needed was rest and she'd be back to normal. She would also make sure to stay at least thirty inches away from the girl she had carried twice in one day.

When Lucy finished taking her clothes off and entered the bathroom, Erza was done washing herself and was about to get in the bath. She turned her head when the door opened and said "We're lucky it's empty, it can be a real mess when there are a bunch of people here."

The blonde was quiet. Staring at the Captain was all she could do. Was that Erza? Well, of course it was, but was it _her _Erza. The person in front of her looked so much like her. For a few seconds, she had completely forgotten that she was in Edolas. With her hair down, Knightwalker was a carbon copy of Scarlet. She shook her head. It may have been the case physically, but they were two different people. She needed to put her feelings for Scarlet aside. Knightwalker's personality was completely different, and she couldn't be too friendly with her. A part of Lucy was scared; however another part couldn't deny the interest in the woman standing in front of her.

She spoke quietly, "I'd assumed you had a bath in your room."

Looking to her, Erza wondered what the blonde was thinking. "I do. But it doesn't fit two people. We'd have to take turns and we clearly don't have time to spare." _'And this is a less intimate setting.' _It may have been silly for anyone else, but Erza wasn't used to seeing people so vulnerable, so naked. And she preferred keeping it that way.

Lucy nodded with understanding as she walked to a stool. Before Erza could sink herself into the big bath, she felt something touch her back. Her need to turn around was immense, but she knew it wasn't a threat so tried her best to calm herself. The finger tracing her back felt nice but uncomfortable. She wanted to swat it away.

Before she could turn around and scare Lucy with a death-stare, the blonde spoke, "Your back is covered in so many scars..." Lucy had once again forgotten where she was. Even if Knightwalker wasn't Scarlet, Erza was still Erza and she felt safe being near her, which was ironic, given she had admitted to herself not two seconds ago that a part of her was scared. She wanted to wrap her arms around the woman's waist, place her head on her back, and listen to the older girl breathe.

All the tension seemed to leave Erza bit by bit.

"I'm a warrior. It's a given," she replied quietly. "What about Scarlet?" She needed a reason to have Lucy stop. Oh yeah, sure. Because thinking of Scarlet would do just that, right?

Thankfully, Lucy spoke up as she removed her finger, only to realize what she had been doing and blush. She was relieved that Erza's back was turned to her. "She used to be a slave but no marks remain. Oh...though one of her eyes is artificial."

"Huh, is that so," Erza said as she went into the bath, letting her muscles relax in the hot water.

Lucy began to wash herself when Erza asked a simple question: "Aren't you scared of me?"

The blonde didn't turn around.

Looking at her soap filled hands, she whispered "I'm terrified."

'_Of course she would be...I-,'_ before Knightwalker's thoughts could continue, Lucy added, "But I also feel safe. It's strange. I've only been with you for an hour now, and yet I feel like I've been with Scarlet for the most of it. Maybe it's because you really are a lot like her. I don't' know about the interactions you had during your fight with but you've changed...maybe change isn't the right word. I don't know how to describe it. I feel more at ease with you now. You're more like Erza now."

Lucy said as she watered herself down, got up her stool and began to walk to the bath. She wondered why she had just said that. But she wasn't lying. Knightwalker felt safe. She felt like home. Like Erza. And Lucy really needed her, especially after how the previous night went. However, before she could get into the bath, the redhead got up, grabbed her by the throat and pushed her down to the wet floor.

The hatred in her eyes was immense. This wasn't the Erza she knew. Of course it wasn't. This was Knightwalker. She had tried to kill her on their last encounter. Why would she assume anything had actually changed? How naïve could she be? She looked at Erza, through her dimmed eyes, wondering what she saw in her face. The hatred and anger were there. But there was something else as well. Something she couldn't pinpoint.

It wasn't that Knightwalker hated Scarlet. They had made up. Well, as much as they could, given their lack of time. However, over the past few months, people kept comparing her to the latter and saying how better the Earthland version was. And Knightwalker was reaching her limits. Fast.

Lucy felt as though her throat was being crushed. She couldn't breathe. She quietly begged Erza to let go, as tears starting forming in her eyes.

But Erza didn't care. The girl could cry as much as she wanted. She couldn't take it anymore!

"I AM NOT SCARLET! ENOUGH WITH THE COMPARING! THOSE STUPID MAIDS! THOSE STUPID SOLDIERS! THEY NEVER EVEN MET SCARLET! AND YET THEY KEEP GOING ON AND ON ABOUT HOW INCREDIBLE A PERSON SHE IS! I HAVE DEDICATED MY LIFE TO THIS KINGDOM AND THIS IS HOW THEY TREAT ME?!"

"Er...za..." She called out as best as she could.

Erza's eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. She let Lucy go, and stared at her hand shockingly.

"...I don't know what came over m-" _Jealousy_. "What?" Erza whispered to herself quietly. '_You're jealous. Scarlet has everything you've always wanted.' _"I've grown out of my want of magic..."

Lucy was looking at Erza while rubbing her neck in fear and wiping her eyes.

'_And? Magic isn't all you've wanted. What about friends? A loving family? Romance? Things that Scarlet has, but you aren't allowed to have.'_ "Shut up. You don't know anything about me!" '_How could you say that? We're the same person after all.'_

"Shut up!" Erza yelled, as she slammed her fist on the floor.

"Oh! There's this rumor going around that Captain Knightwalker has a thing for King Jellal!"

"Eeeh?! No way! Is that true?!"

"I don't know, but if it is, that's weird!"

"There is no way the King likes her anyways."

"That's true. She was beyond loyal to King Faust."

"She should have been exiled too."

"Yeah, better off that way."

"Maybe the King can be convinced?"

"Since he likes Fairy Tail so much, it could work."

"Apparently Fairy Tail wants to be on friendly terms with the Captain."

"Ha! As if that's going to happen."

"Good point. Knightwalker's just a bloodthirsty monster."

"That's meaaan!"

"You guys know it's true."

"Good point. She kills people with a smile."

"What a monster."

"Better for her to be exiled!"

The maids were at it again. Gossping and making fun of her. But she had never actually heard it to this extent.

Erza's eyes widened even more. '_Is this how they see me? I'm...a monster?'_

Lucy gently put her hand on Erza's fist, having the latter relax a bit. Sure, she had nearly killed her, but Lucy had seen it. That one thing she couldn't exactly identify had been sadness. Erza was sad. And probably lonely. Thinking of the woman she loved being sad broke her. Even if Knightwalker wasn't Erza, a part of her still was.

The blonde noticed the captain trying very hard to keep her tears from flowing. Lucy decided to forgive her. Erza clearly had her own problems to deal with as well. She moved in front of the vulnerable warrior and gently took her in her arms.

Knightwalker was surprised. This type of contact was new. However, she didn't mind it a single bit. Sure, she had thought of wanting the girl dead in the doctor's room, and sure, she had nearly choked her to death as well. But being in this girl's arms felt right for some reason. She reminded herself of her self-promise. No questioning. It would all be over in the morning. Erza had pride. She wouldn't cry, let alone bawl in front of anyone. That meant herself as well. Erza Knightwalker did not cry. Ever. Biting her inner cheek helped calm her. She recomposed herself, and just as she was about to move away from Lucy, she heard the head maid's voice.

"What are you girls doing here?"

"We're taking our break!"

"Your break isn't for another half hour. The tables aren't even ready yet! Stop neglecting your responsibilities! Put your clothes back on! You have jobs to do! Move it, move it, move it!"

As she kicked them out of the changing room, she slowly approached the door to the bathroom and gently placed her hand on it.

"This child isn't as strong as people think. Please...take care of her," The head maid spoke quietly, but both Erza and Lucy were able to hear it, along with the smile in her voice. Her presence slowly vanished.

"Who was that?" Lucy asked, with a tinge of remembrance scratching at her head.

Erza slowly said "Old maid Hilda," as she took a deep breath and let it out on the blonde girl's skin.

"Eh? Hilda?" Lucy tried to hide the quiver in her voice. Feeling Erza's breath on her sent shivers through her body.

"What's wrong?"

Lucy shook her head, "It's nothing. Her voice just seemed familiar."

"Erza," Lucy continued and Erza realized how tightly she was holding onto the girl. She let go and got up on shaky legs. She wasn't sure why she felt comfortable holding onto the girl and she wasn't ready to find out yet. She stood for a bit, taking everything that had just happened and processing it. Her eyes widened when she realized she had not only nearly cried, she had held onto Lucy when they were both naked! A strong blush crept up her neck as she turned around.

"I-I'll be getting out first. Don't take too long," she tried her best to sound authoritative. Lucy nodded, unable to do much else, until she let out a small blush for the same thing.

As Erza went into the changing room, she noticed clothes had been laid for her and an extra pair for Lucy. She let out a gentle smile as she began wearing hers but her lips quickly formed into a frown when she noticed what had happened to her armor. The breast plate was scribbled on, the gauntlets were heavily scratched, and her scarf and bikini bottom were in pieces. Lucy had just gotten out when she saw Erza looking at her clothes.

"That's awful! How could they do that to a captain?!"

Erza remained silent. She used to be feared and yet now, she had become a toy. No one respected her anymore_. All because of that stupid king not shutting up about Scarlet this Scarlet that..._

She punched the wall in front of her with so much force as to break it; however her knuckles began to bleed instead, which worried Lucy.

"Erza...Are you alright? Let me take a look at your hand," as she walked up to the captain, the latter let out quietly, "Leave me alone."

Lucy knew she couldn't get to her this time, therefore she decided to let her be. No matter how much she wanted to help, she didn't want to anger Erza. She dressed and hurriedly left, eyeing the knight quickly.

Erza was now alone. She slumped down for a bit, looking at everything but nothing. She was in a complete daze. Closing her eyes, she gave herself a few moments to calm down. Her emotions were everywhere. She didn't know what she was feeling and why.

Moments later, she got up and left the bathroom.

* * *

Erza had returned to her room, unbeknownst to Lucy who was lost in the palace, with no idea where to go. Fear had slowly begun to engulf her. The last time she had been in the palace wasn't a happy event. She was grateful when she saw Coco looking for her and the redheaded captain.

"Coco?" She called out to the girl.

"Ah! Princess! Where have you been?! Dinner's going to start in a few minutes and I couldn't seem to find you or Erza-San!" Coco ran up to her so she didn't have to yell.

"Erza said she wanted to be alone for a while, but I don't know where she went after leaving the bath," the blonde looked down, feeling bad for being unable to help.

"I kept knocking on her door but no one answered..."

"Let's try together."

Coco nodded enthusiastically.

They went to Erza's room and knocked repeatedly but no one seemed to answer. Lucy decided to open the door, ready for any consequences. She was worried! Was she? Was she really? Well, a part of her was. The other part really wanted to know what Erza's room looked like. They both gulped simultaneously as she slowly turned the handle. The blonde poked her head in just in case, but what she saw was so unexpected that she forgot to survey the room. She walked in to what was Knightwalker lying on her back, with wet hair, open arms and asleep. Lucy couldn't help but laugh.

"Why is she sleeping like that?" The blonde wondered quietly.

"She must have been very exhausted...She was in the training grounds for about three hours. Though...she used train for at least 5. I guess all this reinstated business has gotten her exhausted." Coco replied.

Lucy got closer to the sleeping captain. "Identical..." She wanted to touch her. Hold her. Embrace her. The resemblance drove her mad.

"What is?" Coco asked.

"To Scarlet. I'd say her personality too if she were more honest with herself..."

Lucy had forgotten where she was, for the third time that day. To her, the person lying in front of her was the woman she had fallen for. Regardless of dimensions, time lines and who knows what other headaches. To her, the person sleeping here was Erza Scarlet. She understood how unfair that was to Knightwalker since the latter had clearly been wounded by all the comparisons but Lucy couldn't help it. The one familiar face she had wanted to see most was here, eyes closed and breathing evenly...

"I think...We'll be a bit late..." Lucy didn't want to go. Even if it meant a few more minutes, she would want to spend them with the sleeping woman.

"Eh? Not if we wake her and run now!"

"...Coco, go without us. She looks at peace. I don't want to wake her."

"But..."

"Coco...Please."

The younger girl nodded and ran off.

Lucy looked at Erza for a while longer until she herself began to feel tired. Without thinking much about it, she decided to join the redhead. She got on Erza's bed and snuggled in between her and her open arm. A big part of her wished that once she woke up, she would be back in Earthland, and all of this would just be a sick dream. But a small side wanted to stay. Hoped to stay. Because even if Scarlet rejected her, she could have another chance with Knightwalker.

Erza opened her eyes a bit to which Lucy began to panic. Her fear however was quickly put to rest as Erza fell back to sleep, exhausted from all of the day's happenings.

* * *

**As usual, reviews and constructive criticism is welcome!**

**Note:** Chapter has been reuploaded.


	4. Her Tears, Her Apology, Her Confusion

**Chapter 4~ **It's somewhat shorter than the other three. I find it was a bit rushed but hopefully that won't be much of a problem. If there are any typos or mistakes, please let me know.

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

It had only been a few hours since Lucy Ashley's arrival. However, that hadn't stopped Erza from exhausting herself in the guild's storage room, abundant in all sorts of books.

Lucy didn't care much about her situation at the moment as she was enjoying herself with the guild.

_Same faces...different world, different personalities...and yet, they still manage to be extremely loud and fun!_

It was around late night when people began to go home. After about two hours of saying goodbye, Lucy and Erza were the only ones left.

The blonde went over to the storage room to see what Erza was up to. However, what she saw broke her heart.

Erza had fallen asleep on the desk with tears in her eyes.

"Lucy..." she whispered in her sleep.

Edo-Lucy went up to her and put her hand on Erza's arm.

In a gentle, Heartfilia like voice, she whispered, "I'm right here, Erza," to which the sleeping redhead smiled.

Lucy moved away to try to find a cover for Erza, but stopped when the latter spoke.

"I'm sorry, Lucy."

Lucy turned around and looked at Erza who had woken up and gone back to researching, albeit groggily.

"Erza-san..."

Lucy was still somewhat weary because she wasn't used to seeing Erza as part of Fairy Tail, specially acting nice and without any intent to kill her.

"I think you should call it a night..."

"No."

"You've been researching for hours. You're going to kill yourself!"

"And it's still not enough! This amount of research is NOT enough! I haven't found anything!"

"Erza-san! Would you really want Lucy to come back to you an exhausted mess?! If not worse?!"

Erza slammed the desk, "What do you know about us?! About her?! About me?! Lucy is...Lucy is..."

Erza was unable to continue. _What is Lucy to me?_ She thought. Makarov interrupted before her thoughts could go on.

"You two are still here? Erza...call it a night. I'll help you look into it more tomorrow."

"No one cares."

"Erza." Makarov looked very stern.

Erza got up. "All you people are doing is partying while Lucy might be in danger. What kind of nakama are you?!"

Slapped. Lucy Ashley slapped Erza before Makarov could scold her. The S-class mage held her cheek in shock.

"Your guild members...you think they aren't worried? You actually think they don't care about their friend? Partying is a way to forget their worries. It also shows that they trust in Lucy more than you do."

Erza was left in awe at this.

"I...don't trust her?"

"You don't have enough confidence that she can manage herself. If she landed in the kingdom, then she either has Fairy Tail to help her or the King."

"Mystogan..."

"Trust her. Believe in her just enough so that you can rest even a little bit."

Erza slowly nodded, "I guess I'll continue this tomorrow." She got up and decided to call it a night.

"Erza." She turned to look at Makarov. "Get your act together. We'll get her back. Fairy Tail always finds a way to see things through. "He stopped for a bit, looked in her eyes and continued, "I'm an old man. Don't have me needlessly worry about you, especially when you can take care of yourself quite well. Smile! This isn't something to be depressed about!" He smiled. Erza couldn't help but do so as well.

She became a bit more cheerful.

"Let's go, Edo-Lucy. You can sleep in my room tonight."

Lucy nodded and they walked out into the gentle night.

* * *

"Woah! What a big room!"

Lucy walked in but Erza stayed outside, in front of the door, struck with nostalgia.

"Lucy..." She whispered as she remembered the first time her friend had come over to her room.

"Oh! Oh! Look at all these armours! So cool!"

Erza sighed and walked in. She requipped, thinking she had her pajamas on, and landed face first on her bed in utter exhaustion.

Lucy looked at her and smiled.

"You'll catch a cold sleeping naked you know."

"Mmmm...don't...care..."

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." Lucy said as she undressed into her undergarments. She got in the bed and tried her best to cover her and the oddly positioned Erza.

The redhead who had fallen asleep just moments ago, snuggled next to Lucy who blushed severely. She eventually drifted off to sleep, even though it took some time.

* * *

Erza opened her eyes to a dark abyss.

She began walking and then started running, unsure of where to go. She was afraid. The darkness reminded her of the Tower of Paradise.

"Erza?" she quickly spun around to a small voice.

"Erza!" Lucy ran to her and hugged her very tightly.

"Lucy? Lucy...is it really you? My Lucy? Earthland Lucy?" Erza slowly asked.

Lucy nodded.

"...I missed you so much..." Erza said as she nuzzled the girl's neck.

"Haha, you're tickling me Erza...Erza...?"

Lucy pulled away a bit to what was Erza crying.

She put her hand on the requip mage's cheek and wiped her tears.

"Don't cry Erza..." She whispered.

Erza just nuzzled again and repeatedly apologized.

"Erza...why are y-"

"I hurt you... I was inconsiderate. Confused. Lost. My feelings...I don't know where they stand...for one, I love him. I've always loved him...but Lucy...", Erza held her tighter. "I...-" before she could finish her sentence, she woke up with a start to what was Gray and Natsu arguing in front of Fairy Hills.

Erza held her head and looked at the sleeping figure lying next to her as she thought of her dream.

"...What was I about to tell her?"

* * *

**I have up to chapter 9 drafted. Yep. I was going to make this about 5-6 chapters...but I just kept writing, and writing and writing. And now I have up to chapter 9...Guess what...it's still not finished! I'd say about 10-12 chapters if I don't drag it out. I hope you stay tuned! And I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	5. The Hate She Harbours

**Being bombarded with readings and essays. At least I was able to publish on time!**

**Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_What the hell was that dream...? _Erza thought as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Ugh...huh...?" She was going to grab her head, when she felt some type of weight on her breasts.

She shifted her head a bit and saw Lucy lying next to her. Most of her chest was exposed. Erza wasn't too sure what was happening. A sudden warmth coursed through her body as she looked at Lucy. She convinced herself that she was still dreaming, or else, she'd have no idea how to deal with the situation.

Her primal urges had slowly begun to take over her reason. Erza's breathing became rather deep and slow. She gulped as she looked at Lucy's exposed neck. She reached out to touch the blonde, however stopped when she heard a small whimper, followed by "...Erza".

Erza knew Lucy wasn't dreaming of her. She calmed herself and sighed.

_Enough, Erza. Control yourself. _

As Erza was reprimanding herself, Lucy snuggled closer to her. The redhead was somewhat surprised but enjoyed the feeling. Of course, it didn't last long. She heard a massive growl which actually woke Lucy up as well.

Before the blonde could recall her dream, she groggily looked at Erza, who looked back at her. They were silent for quite some time. After a while, they let out a laugh together.

Laughter... Erza hadn't laughed in a very long time...

"I think both of us need to grab something to eat", Lucy said. Erza looked at her for a moment.

"You haven't eaten?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Coco and I came to get you, but when I saw you sleeping, I got tired...so I decided to go to bed and eat later..."

"Heh, aren't you the odd one."

Lucy blushed. Erza was looking at her with what she perceived to be lust.

Did Erza want her? Lucy wasn't sure.

However, before any of the blonde's fantasizes could be realized, Erza decided to ask her something.

"Do you dislike the King's Earthland self?"

Lucy's eyes widened a bit at the question, but instead of answering, she asked one herself.

"Erza...do you have feelings for Mystog-the King?" She asked, correcting herself.

Erza denied it with a movement of her head, and spoke.

"No. Some maids spread the rumor, but I harbor not even an ounce of feeling for him. He is the King and I must follow his orders. Nothing more, nothing less."

Erza wondered why the question, but then figured something.

"Does Scarlet like Earthland Jellal?"

Lucy didn't answer. Her face was grim and she was gripping the sheets tightly.

Erza noticed how much this subject had begun to bother the blonde, and did something very unexpected. She pulled Lucy closer to her. The latter, even though surprised, managed to relax a bit and rested her head on Erza's shoulder.

The redhead whispered, "What do you feel like eating?"

"Anything..." Lucy replied slowly.

"Coco probably put some food aside for us. Let's go check the kitchen."

Lucy didn't budge.

"Are you alright? Still feeling weak?"

She shook her head. She was fine. But she didn't want to move. This feeling of being so close to Erza... she felt right at home.

"Can we... stay like this a while longer?" she asked. Erza didn't say anything. She probably didn't want to move either.

They stayed like that for a while longer. But this time, it was Lucy's stomach that growled. In hearing this, Erza responded , "Let's go. I'm hungry too."

She quickly got up, having begun to feel uncomfortable at the touch.

* * *

They walked to the kitchen and saw Coco had indeed left out food for them.

Lucy's eyes sparkled. "Food! Finally!"

_Finally? No one asked you to stay with me... _Erza thought .

Lucy began to stuff herself.

"Wow! I never knew Edolas food tasted this good!"

"It would taste better if it was fresh." Erza said as she put some food in her plate. The rest of their late dinner was eaten in peaceful silence until Lucy spoke.

"He hurt her..."

Erza continued eating and didn't shift her gaze from her plate.

"He's the reason she suffered for so long. He's the reason her friends suffered for so long. And she couldn't even talk to us. Ask us for help. He's the reason she was so miserable! Then Natsu ends up calling him our nakama?! After all the pain he put Erza through. What the hell is wrong with him?! Nakama?! He almost killed Erza! He killed Simon! I don't care if he was manipulated! Those were his actions! He hurt her so much... and yet...", Lucy had stopped eating for some time. When she slowed down, Knightwalker shifted her gaze to her.

"And yet..." _She's crying_...

"She still goes after him. She obsesses over him. She has friends who would never betray her, but I have no doubt that she'd choose him over Fairy Tail if she had to choose. "

"How long have you known Scarlet?"

Lucy was somewhat irritated. "You didn't listen to a single word, did you?!"

"How long have you know Scarlet?", she repeated without batting an eyelash.

Lucy looked down at her food-filled plate. As she was about to answer, Knightwalker spoke.

"A few months? A year? More? I saw how much Fairy Tail meant to Scarlet. She's beyond passionate about it. She loves Fairy Tail and she would clearly give up her life for it. No matter who this man is, if her loyalty to Fairy Tail is true, then she won't allow him to get in her way."

"How can you be so sure?"

She smiled, "We're both Erza after all."

* * *

After eating, they went back to Erza's room.

"How long are you planning on staying here?"

Lucy wasn't sure if "here" was in reference to Erza's room, or Edolas.

Apparently, Erza wasn't sure either, as she grumbled, "Nevermind."

She walked to her wardrobe. She needed a change of clothes. However, she quickly changed her mind, deeming it a chore, while wondering when she had become so lazy.

She stripped down to her undergarments.

Lucy blushed severely. She was Erza, and yet she wasn't. Lucy couldn't help but stare at her scars.

Erza noticed this and said "It feels like a perverted old man is ogling me."

"I-I'm sorry!" Lucy quickly turned around.

Erza grinned, unbeknownst to Lucy.

She looked in her wardrobe and took out a blue nightgown Hilda insisted on putting there.

"Wear this. It'll be more comfortable. "

She handed it to Lucy who grabbed it with her eyes closed.

Lucy went to a corner of the room to change.

Erza was about to get in bed when she was struck with a sudden headache.

"Tch." She held her head for a bit. Lucy noticed this and asked if she was alright.

Erza being Erza, replied that she was fine.

"Come on." Erza got in bed and pat next to her as the headache began to die down.

"...Can I?" Lucy asked slowly.

"It's not like I'm going to make you sleep on the floor."

Lucy smiled and joined Erza in bed.

Both women had fallen asleep when a letter slid under the door.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism is always welcome.**


	6. A Different Type Of Sadness

**Here we go. Chapter 6. This one is a bit longer than the others. Enjoy~**

* * *

It had been two weeks since Lucy was sent to Edolas. It was early morning. She was on her way to the hunting grounds in the forest with Erza, when she thought back to how she had ended up in this situation.

_"Ugh...Erza?" Lucy woke up to Erza's sudden outburst._

_The redhead was crumpling a piece of paper._

_"Who does he take me for?! I'm a soldier! Not a baby-sitter!"_

_Erza threw the paper aside, quickly dressed herself and went to complain. Lucy got out of bed and picked up the piece of paper._

_"Captain Erza Knightwalker, as per the orders of King Jellal, you are to become the escort of Miss Lucy Heartfilia until further notice."_

_"... That's rather clear cut...She seemed pretty angry..."_

_"It's just her senseless pride showing up again."_

_Lucy looked at the source of the voice._

_"You..."_

_The woman walked to where Erza had flung her clothes and picked them up while sighing. _

_"You're Hilda, aren't you?"_

_"Mhm."_

_She went to put the clothes in the wardrobe when she noticed Lucy's nightgown. _

_"Eh? Ah, this? Erza gave it to me to wear for the night."_

_Hilda sighed. _

_"Huh? Uh..oh, is this special or something? I'll take it off right now!" _

_"Don't worry about it. I just wish she'd act more feminine."_

_"Goddammit! That stupid king!" Erza barged back into the room, fuming with anger._

"_What right does he ha-...Hilda? I really don't understand why you come here every morning. " _

_Erza saw Lucy holding the letter. She really didn't feel like becoming this girl's escort, for however long. Even so, she couldn't help but feel some sort of attachment to her, unsure of exactly what that meant. _

"_Erza."_

_The Knight looked at Hilda, who was in front of her wardrobe._

"_Hm?"_

"_DON'T THROW YOUR CLOTHES EVERYWHERE!"_

_Erza, not expecting that and already mad, clenched her fists and yelled back._

"_STOP BARGING INTO MY ROOM! NO ONE ASKED YOU TO PICK THEM UP EVERY MORNING!"_

"_YOUR ROOM WOULD BE A MESS OTHERWISE! STOP BEING UNGRATEFUL! STUPID GIRL!"_

"_Pffft...Hahahahahah!"_

_As Erza and Hilda were butting heads, Lucy let out peels of laughter._

_They both looked at Lucy who couldn't stop laughing._

_Erza let out a smile at this scene, which Hilda caught fast enough to comment on._

_Erza blushed and quietly said, "Shut up!"_

_She looked to Lucy and raised her voice, "What's so funny?!"_

_Lucy wiped away some tears and spoke. _

"_I'm sorry. Haha. It's just that... this feels nostalgic." Lucy said as she remembered Hilda's cold yet caring nature, during her visit at Fairy Hills._

_Hilda was going to reply, when she noticed Erza had begun heaving._

"_Erza? Are you alright?" _

"_I'm fine."_

"_You should go see the doctor...It might be becau-",she was cut off by the knight, who raised her hand._

"_Enough. I said I'm fine."_

_Erza looked at Lucy as her breathing began to calm down._

"_From now on, you'll be following my orders, understand?"_

_Lucy nodded at the sudden change of subject and tone._

Lucy sighed as she thought back to this. Erza noticed but didn't comment. Instead, she said something else.

"We're almost there. Try to keep up the pace."

"Why do we have to go hunting? Isn't there meat in the castle?"

"Of course there is. But there is going to be a celebration tonight. It's apparently the King's birthday. And of course, a feast is a necessity. So, we're here, hunting. No complaining allowed."

She said firmly, even though she wanted to complain as well. She was a soldier! A part of the army! Why should she be hunting for rabbits and deers?! She sighed. They reached the hunting grounds. Since Lucy wasn't accustomed to hunting, her footsteps were very loud. Every time they spotted an animal, it would run away before Erza had a chance to run after it.

Two hours passed, and Erza was growing increasingly impatient. She suddenly stopped moving, as she heard footstep. She motioned Lucy to do the same.

_A wolf pack? What are they searching for?_

Lucy noticed the wolf pack and got closer to Erza.

"Move slowly. I don't feel like dealing with them," the redhead whispered.

They slowly made it past the wolves when Lucy noticed a bit further away two deers. One seemed to be injured.

_Do I tell her? But what if she decides to hunt it?_

"Erza..."

Lucy grabbed onto her to have her halt.

"What is it?"

"Is there-"

Erza raised her hand to have Lucy quiet down.

_Wheezing...A deer must be close._

She looked around a bit until she noticed the same two Lucy had.

"Come on. And be careful. There is a pretty steep slope on the side."

Lucy didn't listen. She was more worried about what would happen to the injured animal if Erza got to it.

So she ran. She ran towards the two deers, not paying much attention to her footing.

Lucy was about to slip, however, Erza was fast enough to catch her in time.

"I told you to be careful."

Lucy held onto Erza for a while. She didn't want to let go.

"Lu-"

"Are you going to kill them?"

Lucy interrupted, holding Erza tightly.

However, before Erza could say anything, she sensed the wolf pack from earlier around them.

"Damn it..."

In less than a few moments, they were surrounded by a dozen of wolves, with the steep behind them.

"What a pain..."

"...Erza?"

The captain thrust Lucy down the slope and readied her spear.

She easily outmaneuvered the wolves' attacks and pierced a few of them, making sure they would not make it down the slope.

"Lucy! Talk to me. Are you alright?"

No answer.

As Erza's mind wondered to what might have happened to Lucy, one of the wolves attacked her. She was fast enough to dodge it for the most part, however it scratched her right arm, making it bleed. The wolf attacked once more, only to be roundhoused into a tree. It, along with the remaining wolves, sensing the danger this woman posed, regrouped and ran for the deeper parts of the forest.

Erza looked at her arm annoyingly. She ripped off a piece of her scarf, long enough to tie it around her wound. An instant later, she heard a female scream.

Running down the slope, she saw Lucy, two deers behind her and a wolf in front, muzzle covered in blood.

_I'm pretty sure I didn't let any of them down...was it here before them?_

The wolf turned around looking very menacing. It charged at Erza who knocked it back with her spear, causing pain to go through her injured arm. Though the wolf had been injured, it sensed Erza's pain and got up for another attack. However, this time, it was met with the blade going right through its body. It ceased moving.

Lucy covered her mouth at this, unsure how to react. Erza grabbed the wolf by its snuff and threw it with a good amount of strength into the depths of the forest.

She got back to a scared Lucy.

"Are you injured? That wolf had blood on its-" Erza raised an eyebrow.

The two deer, why were they still there? Why hadn't they run away?

"I'm fine." Lucy said as she shook her head. "This doe...is the one who's injured..."

_So that's why it isn't running away. Then the one next to it must be the child._

On closer inspection, Erza noticed that the doe was laying on the ground trying to lick its flank while the fawn was quivering behind her.

Lucy got closer to the doe who became weary of her.

"She's hurt pretty badly..."

The blonde slowly brought her hand closer to the doe, enough that the animal could realize she was not out to hurt it.

"We should help it..."

"It would be pointless. She's lost too much blood already. We can't do anything for her anymore."

"How can you say that without even trying?!"

Lucy had no idea how to help the poor animal, so she just did what her gut told her to. Try to stop the bleeding.

She covered the wound with her hands and Erza sighed at this.

"It looks like you want it to die faster."

"Eh? Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"You're infecting its wound. Step aside."

Lucy immediately let go and moved to the side. Erza motioned for her to move behind the doe to help her.

The redhead took out a type of ointment from her pouch.

"Have her relax, would you?"

Lucy began to slowly pet the doe. Seeing it's mother slightly at ease made the fawn calm down.

Erza began to apply the ointment which burned a bit. Afterwards, she removed what remained of her scarf and wrapped it around the wound.

She sat back, hands covered in blood.

"This is all I can do."

Lucy looked at the animal with clear worry in her eyes.

"There is a small lake here. You should go wash your hands, Lucy."

The blonde was worried about the wolves but Erza dismissed it, saying she wouldn't encounter any.

Trusting Erza's words and direction, Lucy went to find the source of water, which was actually fairly close to their current location.

What she saw was a small lake with clear water, surrounded by trees and bushes.

She knelt down in front of the lake and thought '_Maybe I should take some water back with me...' _before washing her hands.

She searched in her pouch for anything that could be used as a bowl. She found a small empty bottle, which she filled with water and headed back.

When she got back, she saw something unexpected. Erza was laying on the ground, eyes closed, breathing evenly next to the doe and the fawn.

Hearing Lucy's footsteps, the doe slowly opened her eyes. Lucy took out the bottle and poured some water in her hand for the doe to drink. It drank a bit and then closed its eyes again. Lucy offered some to the fawn who drank happily. She used the remainder of the water to clean off Erza's hands. The knight slowly opened her eyes at the contact and just as she was about to close them back, Lucy noticed her injured arm.

"Erza? What happened to your arm?"

"Mmm? Oh, it's nothing. A wolf just scratched me," she answered slowly, clearly exhausted.

"Shouldn't you disinfect it?", Lucy had become worried.

"With what? I'll go see the doctor once we get back." Erza looked at the doe and closed her eyes again.

"You're going to hurt your head like that."

Lucy got closer to Erza and slowly lifted the latter's head to rest on her lap.

Erza opened her eyes once more when she heard Lucy utter a "Thank you", however remained silent. She moved to rest on Lucy's lap sideways so she could keep an eye on the doe.

Lucy closed her eyes and thought '_She's not as scary anymore...I'm glad. Even though she does have her moments.'_

Half an hour passed like so. Everyone had fallen asleep due to the gentle breeze.

Erza woke up, but did not open her eyes. She suddenly remembered the dream she had two weeks ago. She had been so busy these two weeks that she had no time to think about it.

_That's right...Scarlet and Lucy...What was Scarlet going to say to her? "I love you too?" Ha. How many people are you going to love at the same time? How many hearts are you going to break?_

She placed her hand on Lucy's thigh, unsure as to why. Thinking of Scarlet was making her mad.

_Are you even thinking of this girl? Do you even care? Are you trying to find a way to get her back? Or are you busy being swayed by that man?_

Erza put a little more strength as she grabbed onto Lucy's thigh.

"What do you see in a person like that?" she quietly asked the sleeping Lucy.

"Why do I even care?" she wondered out loud.

Lucy let out a small sound. Erza noticed that she put a bit too much strength and it was most likely hurting Lucy. She let go.

She felt dizziness strike her.

"Dammit...", she clenched her fist trying to stop the dizziness.

She felt something lick her hand. She opened her eyes, her reactions having become slow.

"You...Are you thanking me?"

The fawn looked at her. Erza looked towards the mother. She didn't have much time left. Erza's scarf had been drenched in blood.

"You shouldn't be. I can't save her."

The fawn got closer, nuzzled in her neck for an instant and then moved back next to its mother.

Erza looked at this scene and was struck with a sudden pain in her heart.

_Knightwalker, what's wrong with you? They're animals. Things like this happen._

So why did she care so much?

She looked up at Lucy who had her eyes closed in peace.

_Are you going to cry?_

That's what pained her the most. She didn't want to see Lucy sad. She wasn't sure why, herself.

Erza wasn't one to care much about death. Given she had killed left and right for quite some time. But for some reason, this situation was different.

The moment she looked back at the deer, she noticed something.

_No...No. No. No. "_NO!"

She got up, ran to the doe and knelt in front of it.

"Wake up! I said wake up!" She nudged it repeatedly but to no avail. "Hey. Come on. Open your eyes. This is a joke right? Hey. Hey! Why won't you listen- Argh!" She was struck with a severe headache.

_Why now?!_

She held onto her head and fell to the ground.

"Erza?" Lucy rubbed her eyes as she woke up.

"Erza! Are you alright?!" She ran to the fallen captain who had begun to get up.

Lucy was about to put her hand on Erza's shoulder, however was pushed away with a "Don't touch me!" and a glare.

Lucy stepped back a bit until she saw the motionless doe and the fawn trying to wake it. She covered her mouth as tears fell from her eyes and her legs gave out. She slowly crawled to the fawn and held it.

Erza sat down next to her and pat her head.

"I'm sorry," she said as she brought the fawn and Lucy closer to her, holding them in an embrace.

What was she sorry for? Being unable to save the doe? Or yelling at Lucy?

She decided over thinking would be pointless and held them in silence for a while longer. She placed her hand on Lucy's head once more and whispered, more so to herself, "People care, don't they? Even when you least expect them to."

Lucy looked up as Erza said this. Their faces were mere inches apart.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered again. Lucy was going to speak when she noticed Erza's eyes had begun to water.

The blonde didn't say anything. They stayed like that a bit more, until Erza composed herself and decided that it'd be best to leave.

It didn't take much effort for Lucy to convince Erza to take the fawn with them, however, Erza was unsure of what to do with the doe.

She walked up to the fawn in Lucy's arms and pet it while saying, "Sorry, kid."

She tied the doe's legs together. As she was about to wrap the cord to the end of her spear, Lucy spoke up.

"What are you going to do?"

Erza looked at the doe for a moment and said "We're taking it back. It'll be used for the celebration."

Lucy looked at her somewhat shocked with a hint of disgust. "Isn't that going too far?!"

"How exactly? We needed a catch and we got one."

"This is too cruel! Why are you acting so cold?!"

Erza sighed, "I'm not," as she began to drag the doe's lifeless body with her. Once she got next to Lucy, she pulled her over to her, their heads touching.

Lucy knew. Erza didn't want to take it back, but they needed something and it had become much later than both had expected. She held the fawn tighter and asked, "What about him?"

"We'll see what the king says. If he doesn't want it around the castle, we'll find an alternative," just as she said this, she was caught off guard when the fawn happily licked her chin.

* * *

**Thanks for reading~ Constructive criticism is welcome! So are recommendations! If you have any ideas, throw them my way if you want.**


	7. Her Silent Feelings

**Chapter 7's up. Took a bit longer because of midterms. In any case, enjoy!**

* * *

Erza and Lucy returned to the castle.

"I'm going to go hand this over to the kitchen, you go bathe in the meantime."

"What about him?" Lucy said looking at the fawn in her arms.

"I'll go talk to the king in a bit."

Lucy nodded and made her way to her newly appointed room.

Erza went to the kitchen.

"Captain! What a fine animal you've brought!"

"This is why we always ask her to hunt. The others end up bringing small animals not enough for a feast."

Erza placed the doe on the floor and sighed, "Is this even going to be enough?"

"Don't worry my dear! We have lamb as well. But this...this will be great!" The head chef said enthusiastically.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your work."

"Captain Knightwalker!"

One of the maids called out to her. Erza turned around.

"Uh...I...I was meaning to ask..."

_I haven't seen her here before..._

"Are you new around here?"

The girl nodded shyly.

Erza walked up to her and pet her head.

She smiled and said, "You don't have to be so nervous."

The girl looked at the floor and stuttered her question.

"A...are...y-you...going to be at t-the celebration t-tonight?"

Erza removed her hand and said "Most likely not."

She turned around and said "Try to enjoy it for me too", as she walked out.

Before visiting the King, she decided to stop by the doctor's to get her arm bandaged.

When she opened the door, she saw he was alone, going over some files.

"Ah, Erza." He said as he turned to look at her.

"Can you check my arm for me? A wild wolf scratched it."

"Of course. Come on, sit."

Erza sat in front of the doctor and removed the small piece of scarf wrapped around her right arm. Before looking at her arm, he notes a change in Erza's complexion.

"You've become paler...And you look more exhausted...weaker than you usually do...-" Erza raised her hand to silence him.

"Bandage my arm."

"Erza... Maybe we can do some-"

"Old man, enough." Erza said as she closed her eyes. "Please...just bandage my arm." She added quietly.

He decided not to press on the matter anymore. He looks at Erza's arm.

"The cut isn't very deep. There isn't any chance of infection, but we'd better not take any chances."

He applied a disinfectant and bandaged up the cut.

Erza thanked him and left.

As she was making her way to the king's study, where he was most of the time, she saw Jellal and Coco walking up to her.

"Erza-san! Erza-san! You brought a baby deer back, right?! He's so cute! The king's decided to keep him in the garden!"

_...Well...that makes my job easier._

"Is what she's saying true?"

The king nodded. "There is no harm in keeping him here. Though I don't doubt he'll want to go back to the forest soon."

"I'm going to go see him right now! He's in the princess' room!" Coco said happily as she trotted away.

"I guess I'll head to my room for now." Erza said as she turned around. But before she could walk away, Jellal grabbed her hand.

"...Hilda wanted me to talk to you about..." When Jellal noticed Erza was shaking he stopped.

Erza looked to the floor and said "Let...go."

"Erza..."

"This is none of your concern."

"The hell it's not."

"Let go!" She forced her hand out of his and ran towards Lucy's room.

As she was about to go in, Coco ran out screaming. Erza poked her head in and saw a naked Lucy, who had just caught the fawn trying to run away, both covered in soap.

Erza blushed and looked away. _I've seen her naked...so why? _Erza looked back having remembered noticing something.

"Lucy..." she got closer to the blonde.

Lucy let go of the fawn who just stared at Erza.

"...That wound... Where did you get it from?" She said as she gently traced it.

"I just hit a branch when you pushed me down."

_I hurt her?_

"Oh but don't worry! It only stings a bi-iiiiiit?! E-Erza...?"

Erza carried her to the bathroom. She placed Lucy in the bath and took her own clothes off.

_Pale..._

Lucy noticed that Erza had become much paler than when she first saw her.

"This'll burn a bit." Erza washed Lucy's wound with warm water.

Pain surged through the blonde who held onto Erza. After cleaning, she applied some ointment on the wound and wrapped it with a towel. Since Lucy's hair was soapy, she washed it without a word. Once she was done, she dried Lucy who wondered if Erza was going to bathe as well.

"I will, once I'm done here." She carried the blonde to the bed and placed her down.

"There is still some time before you have to prepare for the party. So wear something light and rest a bit."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Hmm?"

"As if you aren't going to go..."

"Because I'm not."

"Why not?!"

"I'm not one to go to parties."

"B-" before Lucy could complain, Erza spoke.

"There'll be a lot of noblemen there. You might be able to find your prince charm-" Slap.

Erza held her cheek in shock. She looked at Lucy who had tears in her eyes. Erza didn't understand what she said wrong. Sure, Lucy loved Scarlet but Scarlet liked someone else. And who knows how long she was going to stay in Edolas.

If this was anyone else, Erza would have lashed at them, but she was at a loss for words.

For some reason this scene reminded Lucy of the last time she saw Scarlet, in her room. The conversation was in some way familiar as well.

Lucy just wanted to crawl under her covers and never come out. If she hadn't run away, none of this would have happened. She'd be at Fairy Tail with her friends...with Erza...

She looked at Knightwalker whose face had relaxed. She was staring right at the stellar mage.

Knightwalker closed her eyes and turned her head away from Lucy.

"You're wishing this never happened right? That you never ended up here. That you could be with Scarlet right now..."

Lucy looked at her. She continued. "You still love her...Even though she loves someone else...How foolish..."

_Hah...Look who's talking...Foolish indeed._

The soapy fawn walked up to Erza and lay at her feet.

Lucy could hear the sadness in Erza's voice.

"Erza...I-" before she could speak, the captain was on top of her, and let her hair down.

"What about now?"

Erza whispered.

"Am I good enough now?"

Lucy didn't know how to respond. But she didn't have to. Erza slowly brought their lips together. The blonde's eyes widened in surprise, however they slowly closed as she accepted the situation.

_Erza..._

As Erza pulled away, she placed her hand on Lucy's cheek and brought their foreheads together.

"Lucy..." Erza had begun panting. She wanted more. This time, Lucy brought her lips closer to Erza's. Just as they were about to kiss, Erza remembered her conversation with the doctor.

She closed her eyes and moved away a bit, trying to calm down. She suddenly opened them to what was Lucy kissing her.

_At least... we can both be happy for a bit..._

As she thought this, images of their morning outing came to mind. Lucy and the doe. She felt as though her heart had just been pierced. And then she saw death.

Whose death? Before she could make that clear, the door opened to which Erza quickly moved away from Lucy. It was Hilda who had just brought a dress Lucy had chosen earlier.

"I'm going to take a nap," Erza said as she began walking to the door and waved from behind to Lucy.

Of course, Hilda stopped her.

"I have yours too. It's in your room."

"..." Erza just stared at her with no emotion. Lucy thought she looked cool but very scary.

Eventually, Hilda left, giving Lucy the job of convincing Erza to attend. The blonde decided to go see the dress with Erza, whom she dragged along, but not before wearing a light shirt and shorts.

"Even if I went, I wouldn't wear a dress!"

Lucy smiled at how cute Erza was acting. She chose to deal with the current situation instead of thinking of the previous happenings in her room. She opened Erza's wardrobe and took out the dress.

It was long, black with white flower patterns and an open back. It reminded Lucy of Scarlet's Akane Resort dress.

"You should wear it! It would look great on you!"

"Haha..." Erza let out a laugh as she looked at the dress. She was staring at the open back.

Lucy wondered why, but then her eyes widened a bit.

_Is she being self-conscious? _

Erza turned around and held her arms. Lucy's gaze had begun to intimidate her.

"Erza..." Lucy got closer to her and wrapped her arms around the red head's waist from behind.

She rested her head on Erza's back and gently whispered, "I love these scars. They show how devoted you are to the Kingdom. How you'd sustain all these injuries for the Kingdom..."

_For me..._ she thought, but couldn't voice it.

Erza began to calm down and held onto Lucy's hands. She closed her eyes. She loved this feeling.

"Please...come to the celebration with me," Lucy whispered on her back. Erza felt butterflies in her stomach.

_If I can be with you for even a while longer, I'll do anything. _Just like Lucy, she didn't voice it.

Instead, she said, "You win."

Lucy smiled and held onto her tighter. Erza couldn't help but crack a smile as well. She removed Lucy's hands from her waist, turned around and held her close. Lucy wrapped her arms around Erza once more and they stayed like that for some time.

However, after a while, Erza's grip on Lucy tightened. The latter blushed at this, but that soon became worry, when she looked up to Erza who had her eyes closed and had begun sweating.

"Erza? Are you ok? Erza?!"

"I'm...fine..." Erza slowly let out.

_Not now...not when she's here..._

"I'm...going to shower. You should go get ready too."

"Are you really ok?"

Erza nodded and let Lucy go.

"Just to keep your trust, after showering, I'll come over and you can do my hair."

For some reason, that made Lucy very happy and took her worries away, even though it was just a poor excuse to have her leave, as Erza thought. She left, Erza having convinced her that she was alright.

Once Erza made sure Lucy was quite a bit away, she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She tried to let her muscles relax in the warm water, however her chest tightened. She held onto it as she began coughing, very loudly and repeatedly. She covered her mouth until the cough died down.

Her breathing began to even out. She fell down and held onto her knees, tears slowly streaming down her face as she looked at her blood covered hand.

"Why now...?" She whispered.

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**Thanks for reading. Reviews are always welcome~**

**I had planned out roughly 10 chapters, but it's gone up to 12. Let's see where it goes from there.**


	8. Indifference Turned Into Fear

**Chapter 8 is now up! Have fun reading & thanks for the reviews.**

* * *

"There. All clean!" Lucy said, smiling to the fawn who was running around her room dripping wet.

"Heeey! Stop that! You'll make a mess! " Lucy ran after the fawn but stopped when she realized that this scene was awfully familiar to the one just a while ago. She placed her fingers on her lips and closed her eyes as she remembered what happened.

"We kissed...right?" she said quietly. But the woman in front of the door heard.

"Don't think about it too much."

"E-Erza?!"

Lucy jumped back in surprise.

The fawn got closer to Erza, looking happy. The redhead let out a smile.

"Oh! That's right. Mystog- I mean Jellal came over a while ago."

Erza's face darkened. Lucy continued looking strangely happy.

"He said we can keep this little guy! Apparently he has a garden that he believes Shou will like."

"Shou?"

"That's what he decided to name him."

"Shou...huh?"

Erza looked at the fawn who was really happy that Erza called him that.

Lucy smiled at the strangely adorable scene, however on closer inspection, she noticed Erza was as white as snow. Lucy began to worry.

"Erza, you don't have to force yourself to attend you know..."

'_That's where you're wrong', _Erza thought.

"I'm not forcing myself."

"But you're very pale!"

"Don't worry about it. I'm just hungry."

_Does she really expect me to buy that?_

Erza knew what Lucy was thinking so she let out a smile. Lucy was relieved at this.

"Erza...promise me you'll take care of yourself."

Erza pet her head letting out a laugh.

"Don't worry about me. I'm not a child."

Lucy unexpectedly wrapped her arms around the captain's waist and rested on her chest.

"I'm scared..."

Erza held onto the blonde and gently whispered.

"I'm here. There is no reason to be afraid."

"That's exactly why I'm scared!" Erza remained silent. "I don't want to lose what I have with you, here."

_...What is it that we have anyways? _Erza asked herself.

"It's been two weeks and yet I feel as though I've been here for more than a year."

"Do you miss her?"

"I do. A lot. I miss everyone."

"I'm sorry I don't know how to get you ba-"

Lucy stopped her by placing her index finger on her lips.

"I miss everyone, but...I'm happy. I'm happy to be here, right now, with you."

"That's just because I look like Scarlet."

Erza said as she removed Lucy's finger.

"That's not true." Lucy firmly said as she looked at Erza. "At first, that might have been the case, but I wouldn't stay with you if you were the same woman I first met."

"Oh?" Erza cracked a smile, reminiscent of when she was going to executed Lucy.

"Stop that! Those aren't nice memories you know."

"Haha." Erza held onto Lucy tighter and said "Sorry, sorry."

Lucy blushed. "I'm sorry." Erza said, genuinely.

The blonde was caught off guard.

She looked up at Erza who was looking to the side.

She took this opportunity to quickly leave a peck on the captain's cheek and then untangled herself from the knight.

"Come on! We should do your hair before it's too late!"

Erza held on to her cheek for a bit until she sighed and went over to Lucy.

"You didn't forget.."

"Eh? Why else would you come over?"

_I wanted to spend some time with you._

"Fair enough."

Erza sat down and Lucy began to brush her hair. She straightened her bangs and styled them at the front. Two long bangs, which she added some waves to, on each side, with 3 in between. Lucy didn't realize that she was styling her hair the same way Scarlet's was at Akane Resort. She wrapped her red hair in a bun and tied it at the back while leaving some hair down. They were awfully quiet for some reason neither could understand.

"There! All done! " Lucy let out a smile of accomplishment as Erza looked in the mirror.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it! Alright, we're going to your room."

"Why?"

Erza asked as she was being dragged from her seat.

"You'll need help getting in your dress without messing your hair."

The redhead pulled away.

"I can manage."

"Somehow I doubt that..." Lucy quietly said as she remembered Hilda mentioning Erza's inability to wear dresses.

Erza heard, but disregarded.

"I can dress by myself."

Lucy looked at Erza. Something felt different. As though she didn't want Lucy in her room.

The blonde let out a smirk and ran straight towards Erza's room. Of course, she knew she couldn't reach her destination before Erza stopped her, however she was surprised when she noticed Erza was not behind her.

She slowly turned the doorknob and looked inside. Her eyes widened slightly.

_What happened here? It wasn't anything like this when I left..._

Just as she was about to walk in, someone grabbed her arm.

She looked back to a heaving Erza.

_Damn it. I can barely run in this state._

"Erza...", the redhead let go as Lucy called out to her,"What happened? Was it those maids?! Who did th-"

Lucy was silenced the moment Erza took her in her arms.

"Lucy, could you fix my hair? Running messed it up a bit."

The celestial mage saw it in Erza's eyes. She did not want to discuss this.

She nodded, "We still have time. Can you wait a bit?"

"Sure...?" Erza cocked her head to the side a bit, somewhat confused.

She did not expect what Lucy did next. She barged into Erza's room, fixed her bed, began sorting things and clearing the floor of broken glass shards.

"Lucy...", Erza walked in slowly. "You really don't need to do this. I'll have a maid sort it out."

The blonde stopped cleaning. What Erza said didn't sound quite right.

_Why would she ask a maid to sort out the mess in her room caused by the maids? Unless the maids weren't the ones who did this...Who else has access to Erza's room? Hilda...More than doubtful. She's the one who cleans the room! Coco? She wouldn't dare go in if Erza wasn't there. Mystogan? Why would he go in? Or mess it up for that ma...-_

"Why?" Lucy turned to Erza and asked her

"Why what?" Erza looked at her trying to feign ignorance.

"Why did you do this?"

"Do what?" Erza responded without batting an eyelash.

"Don't mess around with me, Erza! Why did you make such a mess of your room?!" Lucy showed a mix of worry and anger.

Erza closed her eyes for a brief moment.

'_Why? Why now?!' She quickly left the bathroom, still wet, with fear, anxiety and anger brewing inside of her. She looked at her dresser mirror and noticed how much her skin had paled. She let out another cough that spurt blood on her hand._

"_Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" She swiped her arm across the dresser, and knocked down the vase and picture frame._

"That's none of your business," she said, opening her eyes, not wanting to remember more of what happened. "Could you fix my hair now, please?"

Lucy didn't utter a sound.

Erza sighed as she began walking towards Hilda's room, "I'll just ask the old woman."

However, Lucy grabbed onto her arm rather strongly. She clearly had no intention of letting go.

"I'll do it. I'll fix your hair."

They sat on Erza's bed. Without another word, Lucy fixed Erza's bangs and redid her bun. When she was done, she moved to get off the bed, however noticed that Erza had her eyes closed and wasn't moving.

"Erza? I finished your hair." Lucy nudged her a bit, but to no avail. "You're pretty exhausted from this morning aren't you..."

The blonde let out a smile and slowly let Erza down to lay on her lap. She had her sleep sideways, so as to not mess up the newly made bun.

Erza opened her eyes a bit and saw that she was facing Lucy. She brought herself closer to the blonde's belly and closed her eyes once more.

Lucy had shut her eyes, however opened them once she heard Erza speak.

"Lucy... Were you really in love with Scarlet? Is that what love is?"

The blonde placed her hand on Erza's head.

"Is it so insignificant that you can jump from one person to the other so easily?"

Lucy wasn't sure if the Knight was referring to her relationship with both Erzas or to something altogether different.

The blonde looked down at Erza who still had her eyes closed. She slowly opened them and looked at Lucy.

She lifted her right hand to rest on Lucy's left cheek and slowly whispered, "What...is love?"

Lucy was somewhat surprised at this question, however felt the need to answer. She placed her right hand on Erza's and gently spoke.

"Love...love is...what I'm feeling right now...," Erza's touch wavered as Lucy continued, "...for-"

"Erza, are you in here?"

Both Erza and Lucy recomposed themselves and sat near each other when they heard Hilda's voice. The latter knocked and entered the room.

"What on earth happened in here?!" Hilda looked around the room shocked.

Lucy got off the bed, dusted her lap and spoke.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Hilda! We just had a bit of a disagreement, that's all! We'll clean it up after the ball!"

Hilda shook her head in disappointment, going along with Lucy's ruse.

"Now that you're here, you can help Erza get in her dress while I go do my hair!" Lucy said as she slowly began to walk towards the door.

Erza looked at Hilda, but spoke to Lucy, "I'll come pick you up in about an hour. The ball room isn't exactly inside the castle."

Lucy wondered what that was about, but nodded and quickly left, feeling that things had gotten unnecessarily awkward.

Once Lucy was gone, Hilda walked around the room a bit, as Erza stayed seated on the bed.

She went over to the dresser, picked up the picture frame that had fallen and spoke, "I'm still surprised you actually agreed to take a picture at the time."

"He was a friend," Erza said, looking down.

"A friend you mercilessly shot down."

"He betrayed the king. What other choice did I have?!" Erza raised her voice. She calmed herself. "Why are you even here?"

"That girl is a poor liar. I heard the ruckus you were causing earlier."

"Is that so?" Erza replied nonchalantly.

"Undress."

"Why?"

"Either you do it yourself, or I strip you."

"It's too early to wear the dress. It'll just get wrinkles."

"Erza."

"Fine." Erza got up and undressed. She was now in her undergarments.

Hilda inspected her entire body at least three times.

"At least you aren't injured. What exactly happened for you to do this?"

"Nothing."

Hilda saw Erza had no intention to talk about this.

"Alright, fine. But you're coming with me."

She went over to the wardrobe and found a robe for Erza to wear, which she threw towards her.

"Wear that and walk with me."

Erza did as she was told and put the robe on, however, she did not move.

"Where are we going?"

"You know exactly where. You don't want to talk about your outburst, fine. But you're going to go get a check up. Now."

"And why exactly?"

"Look at yourself, Erza! You're white as snow! You have bags under your eyes and you can barely stand!"

Erza waved her off, sat on the bed and crossed her legs.

"It's fine. It's not like the doctor can do anything anyways. It's been...what? 10 years? No prevention. No cure. And no more magic. There is nothing that can be done for me at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if I died within next wee-"

She held onto the cheek that Hilda had just slapped.

"Has slapping me become a fad today?"

Unexpectedly, Hilda embraced her.

"You fool. How can you be so indifferent?!"

Erza's voice became but a mere whisper."

"It's true though...I've-"

"We'll find a way. I promise you this."

"_We can't survive unless we get an eternal source of magic! Someone like you...Someone from Earthland would never understand!"_

"_But we're alive, aren't we?! Right now! We've run dry. We don't have any magic left but we're still alive!"_

Erza's arms went limp.

_What about now, Scarlet? Can you truly say those words to me now?_

Erza closed her eyes trying to stop the tears from flowing.

_Lucy..._

"...I don't want to die," she whispered into Hilda's arms.

* * *

**I was initially going to make this chapter about Edo!Fairy Tail. But the drafts I did and redid came out super boring (and I wanted to write more Knightwalker ASAP). But they'll be included, so don't forget about them! I hope you enjoyed reading. Reviews are welcome. Also, to those who are following and favourited, thank you!**


	9. Her Innocent Jealousy

**Here's chapter 9. Right before the weekend is over! Enjoy.**

* * *

Knock.

"Lucy, it's me."

Lucy opened the door to Erza, dressed, hair perfect, with small diamond like earrings and a necklace, she also had a black coat in her hand and wore five inch heels as requested by Hilda. She looked incredible.

The blonde couldn't help but stare at her until she realized what she was doing. She shook her head and spoke, "You're early! I just finished my hair. I'll be ready in a few minutes. Come in."

Erza walked into her room and Lucy closed the door. The redhead went to sit on Lucy's bed while the other was getting ready.

"Hilda said I should come early, you never know what happens." Lucy nodded in understanding.

"Why do you have a coat with you?" Lucy wondered as she headed towards her wardrobe.

Erza eyed her coat, which she laid on Lucy's bed. "I told you the ball room isn't in the palace. We'll be walking for a little bit."

It was late October, so the weather was a bit chilly.

"Unless...you want to take the horse..." Erza said looking away.

Lucy looked at her and let out a smile, "Wouldn't that ruin our dresses?"

"I guess so."

Erza looked up to her and added, "I'll take you for a ride sometime."

Lucy smiled and said, "I can't wait! Oh! I forgot to tell you. One of the King's guards came and took Shou to that garden. But now I'm worried since you said it's cold out..."

"You don't have to worry. I'd say he's a tough little guy."

Lucy let out a smile as she turned around and began to undress.

_Lucy..._

Erza was eyeing Lucy. She grabbed onto the bed covers as her quiet breathing slowly became heavy.

The captain traced her eyes along the blonde's curves. She went from her long slender legs, slowly up her round buttocks, staring at it for some time.

_Her figure is perfect... _

Lucy removed her underwear as Erza's eyeing continued. She wanted to trace her finger along Lucy's small back. The blonde tossed her bra on the bed next to Erza, who turned to get it in time before it fell to the floor.

Erza held it in her hand for a bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry Erza. I didn't mean to throw that at you."

Lucy turned around and went over to Erza who let out a small blush as she looked at Lucy's exposed chest.

She looked away and struck her face with disbelief.

_Knightwalker...What's wrong with you? This feeling...I...I've never felt like this before...Is...Is this...love? Is this...what love is?_

Erza's eyes slowly became wet. She tried to hide her face, however Lucy noticed her behaviour.

_Why now? These feelings...Why did they have to come now? It's been two weeks and yet I love her? But I can't have her. It's not even an issue of competing with Scarlet... How do you tell someone you want to be with them when you're going to be dead soon?_

"I don't want to die..." she let out quietly, however Lucy heard and held her.

"No one wants to die, Erza. I'm not sure what's going on with you, but I won't let you die. I promise."

Erza looked up at her, tears falling. She placed her hand on Lucy's cheek and quietly whispered, "Lucy..." as she brought her lips closer to the blonde's. They kissed. And neither questioned their feelings. Erza rested her head on Lucy's chest for a few minutes as she felt safe.

"Do you want to stay here? We don't have to go," Lucy told her.

Erza shook her head and wiped her tears.

"I'm fine. Hilda wouldn't stop scolding me days on end if I missed this."

Lucy laughed as she pictured Erza being scolded. She let the redhead go and said, "Give me a few minutes and I'll be done."

Erza nodded.

Lucy's dress was somewhat similar to Erza's. It was fairly long, reaching down her knees, of light blue color and strapless. It didn't have any layers, and had white flower motifs on her chest area and on the bottom. She got dressed, however, just as she was about to put on some jewelry, Erza took out a simple yet fairly attractive necklace.

"I thought I'd give this to you, since I wasn't sure when your birthday was," she added as she looked away.

Lucy blushed and thanked her as Erza helped put on the necklace, which was silver and had a red glass drop as a piece. Lucy grabbed a long white coat to go with her dress and they left the Palace. There was a pathway behind the Palace that would lead them to their destination.

"We can take this path because we live in the Palace, but the guests will have to go in from the front."

Lucy nodded and understood why they needed coats. It wasn't that long of a walk, barely five minutes, however it was fairly cold out.

"Hard to believe it's almost winter," Erza mumbled as if reminiscing.

Once they reached the edifice, their coats were taken and placed in the coatroom.

As they entered the ballroom, whispering took place as the nobles looked at Lucy and Erza.

"That's Erza Knightwalker right? Those rumours must've been false."

"I agree. She seems very lady like"

"You two, forget about her. She doesn't seem the type to settle."

"Isn't she more like a wild beast?"

"How unladylike."

"I say she just needs to be tamed."

One of the nobles decided to go up to Erza and asked her to dance.

"My lady, would you care to dance?"

Lucy let out a small smile, finding the scene somewhat funny.

"I am afraid I must decline your offer, for I am this girl's escort, and I cannot leave her side."

"A little while won't hurt, will it?" He insisted.

"I kindly decline." Her words were final and harsh as she glared at him.

The nobleman scoffed and went back to the others. One of them commented on how Lucy seemed to be more womanly and ladylike, which peaked the others interests.

One of them shook it off saying, "If Captain Knightwalker is her escort, there is no way anyone is getting close to that girl."

Nearly all of them agreed, and decided to move on. Aside from one very persistent man who wanted the blonde. He decided to closely watch the two girls, as there would be a moment where they would be separated. He would seize it.

A little while later, Erza grabbed onto Lucy's arm to get her attention.

"Could you excuse me for a few moments? I need to go to the restroom."

Lucy nodded and Erza left. The man thought this was the perfect time to talk to her. He walked up to the blonde and began conversing with her. Lucy wasn't too bothered because she was used to these types of situations. However, when the conversation escalated to a proposal and some inappropriate touching, Lucy began to feel overwhelmed. She insisted that the man leave her alone, however he would not let her have her way. He cornered her, trying to get her to accept his proposal.

Lucy closed her eyes and thought, '_Erza...where are you...?',_ as she held her arm.

"Sorry, she's taken."

_That voice..._

Before Lucy had the time to open her eyes, her arm was grabbed and she was whisked away to the other side of the room. When she opened her eyes, tears filled them.

"Natsu!" She said as she hugged him.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Natsu said as he let out a smile.

"You've changed, haven't you? You seem more confident now."

"Haha, you think so?"

Lucy smiled and nodded.

"I really don't like nobles though," Lucy said as she looked around for Erza.

Someone gently tapped her shoulder, which made her turn around, thinking '_Erza!'._

"It's been a while, Lucy."

"Mira!"

Lucy let out an even bigger smile as she hugged the girl. However, when she let go, the blonde noticed that Mira's smile contained hints of sadness. She looked around her, seeing Wendy, Juvia and Gray. They all seemed happy; however, she could see the sadness.

"Mira...What's wrong?"

Mirajane wasn't sure exactly how to answer, so Lucy asked them, "Did you guys know I was here?"

Natsu nodded and spoke, "Our Lucy went missing and then we heard she was suddenly at the Royal Palace with Erza Knightwalker as her escort. Something wasn't right with that. So we looked into it and eventually found out it was you."

"Since you're fine, we suspect Ashley is as well. She knows how to handle herself after all," Juvia added.

Natsu continued saying "We wanted to come and say hi, but...Knightwalker is scary and always around you!"

"Pffft...Hahaha!" Lucy couldn't help but laugh at this as she recalled how sweet and kind Erza could actually be.

They ate, drank and reminisced about the time they had spent together.

* * *

"Hah. Hah. Hah. Ha-" She breathe heavily as another wave hit her lungs. With each cough, she spurt out blood.

"Excuse me... Are you ok?" A girl tapped her back gently.

Erza glared through the mirror at her until she realized who it was.

"C-captain Knightwalker?!"

"You...You're that maid from the kitchen."

The girl nodded.

Erza wiped her lip and turned around as she began to calm down.

"You never told me your name."

"Ah! I'm sorry. It's Milliana!" She said with a grin.

Erza smiled, however just as she was about to say something, a violent cough enveloped her lungs.

She fell to her knees, her body too weak to stand.

"Captain! Let me call the doc-"

Erza grabbed her hand, "Don't."

"_Am I contagious?"_

_He shook his head. "This is not something that is easily caught, and you are too far in to give it to others." _

"I have my answer. She's safe. That's all that matters to me."

The girl looked at her with worry.

"Stop that look, Milliana. You should smile."

"But...The woman I admire is coughing up blood in front of me!" Erza slowly got up and pet her head.

"The woman you admire huh? I don't think I deserve that. Come on, I've calmed down. I just need some water."

They walked out of the restroom. Erza found Lucy who was conversing with Fairy Tail members. She let out a smile seeing how happy Lucy was.

"You can barely stand. Did you have an episode?" The doctor behind her asked in a whisper.

"This is none of you concern anymore," Erza replied coldly.

"If you don't do anything, at this rate your body won't last more than 3 days."

Erza looked at Lucy.

"Is that what you want? That girl has been very close to you these last two weeks hasn't she? She'll be all alone if you die."

Erza clenched her fists.

"She'll have them. Fairy Tail"

"Erza..."

When Erza noticed some noble moving up to Lucy, she cut her conversation short. She started pacing towards her while talking to herself.

"I'm the one who told her about the nobles...Well sure... I'd prefer it if she chose me_..." Wait...did I actually think that? _"She's an average girl who will probably find her prince charming one day_..." So...why am I doing this? _

However before she could interrupt them, someone else did.

The anger in Erza's eyes was obvious. Everyone saw she was fuming. However, none of them knew the real reason.

"My lady, would you kindly dance with me?"

Lucy blushed as the King asked her hand.

However, before she could answer, her hand was slapped away by Erza who was glaring at her fiercely.

"I'll be dancing with him."

Lucy looked surprised, but let Erza have her way.

As the two began to sway, Jellal let out a smile and spoke, "I thought you hated me."

"Hate is a strong word. I just don't like you."

"Can I ask why?"

"Aside from the fact that you exiled my King and had me relieved of duty?"

"It was temporary. I couldn't trust someone that loyal to the previous King."

"Huh."

"You still haven't answered."

"I just did!" Erza was slowly getting agitated.

"Am I to believe those two are the only reasons?"

"You are to believe whatever you wish, your Highness."

"That stings."

"I'm glad."

Jellal let out a smile at Erza's behaviour as they continued dancing.

Lucy had been closely watching their dance; however she couldn't hear their conversation. They both had smiles on their faces, and Lucy did not like that. She felt her temperature rise as she watched them. She held her head when dizziness struck and decided to go out for some air.

As the dance continued, Erza noticed Lucy was no longer where she had left her. She quickly scanned the room when she noticed from the corner of her eye, the blonde running out of the ballroom. The redhead quickly let go of the King's hands as she tried to run after Lucy. However, she wasn't all that used to heels yet, so this proved to be difficult. She stopped by the coatroom and grabbed her black coat. She continued out and put it on.

It was very cold outside.

The knight ran around the edifice and the Palace, went to Lucy's room but to no avail. As she was walking back, she was completely out of breath. She didn't know where to go, until she remembered what Lucy had said, "The guards took Shou to the King's garden."

_But Lucy doesn't where the garden is._

She shook her head as she vehemently began to run towards the Garden.

_Lucy...Lucy...Lucy!_

She tripped and fell on her face. It hurt. She was a mess. Her hair was a mess, her dress was a mess, she was a complete mess.

"Lucy...I'm sorry."

Tears. Erza gave herself credit. She had never cried this much before. She felt useless. She could barely move her body. She started regretting not having told the doctor when those headaches had started.

She slowly got up, all wobbly.

"Lucy..."

She whispered the blonde's name as she slowly made her way to the garden. Thankfully for her, Lucy was there.

The blonde looked up to a tearful Erza. Both of them had been crying. Erza fell face first on the meadow next to Lucy and closed her eyes.

"Aren't you cold?"

Erza asked, as Lucy was without her coat.

Shou came towards her and Erza let out a small smile.

"Hey there. I'm sure you aren't, right?"

The little fawn let out a happy sound that Erza took as, "Of course I'm not!"

The redhead pet him a bit, and then he ran to the back of the garden.

_Giving us some privacy?_ Erza wondered.

"A little bit," Lucy finally spoke.

After a few moments of silence, Erza asked, "Why did you run away?"

Lucy looked away unsure of how to answer.

"Please don't misunderstand, Princess."

"Princess?" Lucy let out a gentle laugh.

"Mmm...That's what Coco called you when I first brought you here. I didn't know you were a princess. Maybe I should've treated you better."

Lucy looked at Erza who seemed to be in pain.

She placed her hand on the latter's back.

_I'm not actually a princess though..._

She didn't voice it, because she loved the image of a princess and her knight together.

"Please don't misunderstand." Erza repeated.

"What I did there, it wasn't because I wanted to dance with the King. I don't care for him. And I've told you this before; I don't have any feelings for him."

Erza moved to rest her head on Lucy's lap.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you. I just wasn't sure what to do... I didn't want you to dance with him... I...I guess I was jealous." Erza said the last part facing Lucy's lap to hide her blushing.

"I'm sorry..." Lucy whispered. "I...I just thought...I was going to lose you again."

_Again? Oh...Scarlet._

Erza looked up and let out a gentle smile.

"Do I have to tell you for the third time?"

Lucy smiled and shook her head.

"E-Erza?"

Out of nowhere, Lucy was on her back looking up at Erza.

"Lucy..."

The redhead was blushing so severely that Lucy could see it clearly in the moonlight. Erza closed her eyes as she gently kissed her.

* * *

**I hope you liked the chapter. Also, it would be fun if some of you wrote down what you think will happen by the end of the fic. I want to see what you guys think.**

**Next chapter should be out between Friday and Sunday. Stay tuned.**


	10. The Expression of Their Feelings

**Chapter 10 is up.**

**Thanks to the people who left me a PM. Appreciate it!**

**Chapter contains more yuri than before. Well, if you've read this far already, no need to give a heads up. Enjoy~**

* * *

Lucy's eyes were once again filled with tears.

"Lucy? What's wrong?"

Erza asked cupping her cheek.

Lucy shook her head.

"Nothing...I'm just... Happy."

"Lucy..." Erza whispered as she kissed her tears.

She then added unexpectedly, "I don't think you've ever told me why you like Scarlet so much."

"Shouldn't you be asking why I like you so much?"

Erza didn't think Lucy would be so honest. She blushed and looked away to which Lucy giggled.

"I guess so..."

"Erza?"

"No one's liked me before. And I'm pretty sure mother hates me."

"You have a mother?!"

"Yes. My father passed away about 10 years ago though."

"Oh..."

"But why were you so surprised?"

_Because Erza is an orphan..._

"Can I meet her?"

"Sure. One day."

"One day?"

Erza turned to rest on her elbows next to Lucy as she looked up to the night sky.

"My parents used to be knights. Appointed to safeguard the king. Faust at the time."

Lucy stuck closer to Erza as she listened.

"My father fell sick, and no one could save him. There was no cure. Only a way to prolong his life. However, a nine year old girl needed it as well. He chose her over himself."

Lucy cut in.

"Why couldn't they both use it?"

"At the time, Edolas was running out of magic again, and the healing lacrima were very limited since they needed a considerable amount of magic. My father passed away, and the girl survived. Mother was in grief for a very long time. One day, 7 years ago, she left the Royal City. No one has seen her since."

Erza said reminiscing.

_She misses her..._

Lucy put her weight on Erza causing the latter to collapse to the ground with a yelp.

"Erza...did you just-"

"I DID NOT!" The redhead quickly retorted.

"I heard it!"

"You heard nothing!"

"You went 'Kya!'!" Lucy said, quietly snickering.

"I DID NOT!"

Lucy smiled and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

_Erza...you've really..._

She opened her eyes before her thought was complete. Erza immediately spoke.

"Lucy? What's wrong?"

"Eh? I...I don't know.. Haha...I can't stop. My tears won't stop..."

Erza quickly flipped Lucy on her back and stood atop her.

"Don't look at me!"

Lucy said covering her face with her arms.

"Lucy...what's going on?"

The blonde didn't respond. She whimpered some more for a while.

"_I guess I'd react the same way if Jellal had someone else he liked...Eh? Ah, did I say Jellal? It just slipped! I wasn't actually talking about him..."_

"I want to see her again..." Lucy was trying her best to hide her face. She couldn't face Knightwalker. She had fallen for the captain, but felt guilty when she said she wanted to see Scarlet.

However, Erza did not take it like that. Since they were talking about parents, the redhead assumed Lucy was referring to her own mother.

"I'll get you back to Earthland. I promise."

Erza said as she moved Lucy's arms away and kissed her lips.

Saying that broke her heart. She wanted Lucy to stay in Edolas with her, but she knew that wasn't possible. Her time was short. Very short.

_That's right...Realistically, the most I have left would be 5-7 days...Without even an ounce of magic, it's progressing faster._

Lucy looked up at Erza, surprised the redhead wasn't mad. Until she realized the knight had misunderstood.

Thinking back, she noticed how she hadn't thought about Scarlet for quite some time.

_But does Erza even love me? Do I love her? _ _Are you just a replacement?_

Lucy's mind was elsewhere, but she kept looking at Erza. Her eyes widened when she realized something.

She cupped Erza's cheek.

"You're not her."

Erza's head tilted a bit.

"You two...are very different."

"Uh...Lucy?"

"I liked her."

A pause. Lucy continued.

"But I like you."

Erza repeatedly blinked.

Lucy shook her head.

"No. That isn't right. I l-"

Erza cut Lucy short with a kiss and whispered "Don't say it. Not now."

Lucy kissed back and smiled.

"I..." Erza looked away. She wasn't sure how to muster the confidence needed for the things going around in her head.

Lucy smiled again.

Erza moved away a bit and took her coat off.

She placed it on the meadow, the back touching the ground. She motioned Lucy to go on it. The blonde obeyed and sat on the coat. Erza gently pushed her on her back.

"Is this better?" Erza asked.

Lucy nodded as she felt the warmth of the coat on her back.

Erza smiled and gulped as she eyed Lucy's open shoulders, down to her chest.

Lucy saw Erza's look but she wasn't sure what the redhead wanted. Before she could make a mental list, Erza kissed her once more. Over and over again. Gentle pecks on her lips. Until a firm kiss came followed by the redhead asking for permission. Lucy slightly parted her lips, giving  
Erza access. The blonde's temperature had begun to rise once more. She never expected to be doing something like this with Erza. The knight slowly moved from Lucy's lips to her left shoulder as she lay kisses along the way.

"Erza..." Lucy whispered as her breathing started to become heavy, and her vision, unclear.

The redhead brought their lips together as she slowly traced Lucy's collar. Her hand glided to the blonde's chest and down to her belly.

"E-Erza! Wait!"

Lucy grabbed Erza's arm and shied away.

"This...I...No..."

She shook her head.

Erza whispered in her ear.

"You don't want it?"

Lucy yelped when Erza's breath touched her ear.

"I...It's not that I don't."

"Then what is it?" Erza asked as she kissed her ear lobe.

"I'm...scared..." Lucy replied, near tears.

"Lucy... is this your first time?"

"Mhm..." she said trying to hide her face.

Erza smiled and left a gentle peck on Lucy's lips.

"I'll be gentle".

The redhead started to leave trails of kisses along Lucy's jawline.

"E-Erza..."

"It's okay," she whispered, as she went down the blonde's neck.

"I...Is this your...first time...too?"

Erza blushed and stayed silent as she left a mark on Lucy's neck, causing the blonde to yell out.

She quickly covered her mouth, trying to silence herself. Erza didn't expect to hear a sound like that, and whispered, "How...cute..."

"S-stop looking at me! It's embarrassing..."

Erza moved Lucy's hand away from her mouth. She kissed her lips once more, and whispered with a blush, "I want you."

* * *

The redhead fell next to the exhausted Lucy, who slowly moved to rest her head on the Knight's exposed chest.

"Lucy...I..."

When Erza looked down, the blonde was tiredly looking at her, breathing heavily. The knight let out a smile as she kissed the girl's head. She took the coat on the ground and laid it on top of her.

_I love you too._

The knight closed her eyes for a bit.

* * *

"Erza! Happy 10th birthday!"

"Father!_" _The young girl exclaimed as she ran up to her father.

"I'm sure my little knight will love her present!"

"I'm not little anymore, Father!" Erza pouted.

'You'll always be our little Erza," the voice of a woman.

"Mother, stop teasing me!"

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry," her mother replied, petting her head.

Erza looked outside when she heard kids running around.

"Sweetheart...," the young mother let out.

"I wish I could spend time with the other kids my age t-," her sentence was disrupted when she began coughing violently.

"Erza!"

_I'm worrying them again..._

_Eh? Mother?_

"I'm here, Erza. I'm here. It's alright."

She held Erza in her arms, as the girl's cough began to die down.

* * *

Erza opened her eyes.

_Every time I was sad, mother would embrace me..._

_Mother's touch...I miss it._

She looked at Lucy who had her eyes closed, and caressed her arm. She shut her eyes once more.

* * *

"Happy 13th birthday, Erza!"

"Thank you, Hilda," the girl responded, not as happy as she should have been.

"I have something for you. I'm sure you'll like it."

Erza let out a smile as she took the gift from Hilda.

"I don't doubt you. But I assume you're forgetting I prefer pants to skirts," Erza let out, as her smile widened.

"I'm back_._"

_Mother..._

The young redhead placed the gift to the side, not having had a chance to fully open it.

"I'm going out."

"Erza...At least spend some time with your mother on your birthday of all days."

"Why? She hasn't looked at me in over three years," Erza said quietly as she clenched her hands.

"She's still in mourning. You can't blame her."

"No...I can't. But she blames me."

"Has she ever said that she blames you?"

"She never has to. She doesn't talk to me anymore. She doesn't even look at me! I'm the reason father is no longer with us," the thirteen year old tried her best to hold her tears back.

"She...hates me."

"She does not."

"She does!"

"Erza! She's your mother! Why would she hate you?!"

"Because I killed father!"

Hilda's eyes widened. She was aware of how the young girl's father had passed away, but had never realized how much guilt Erza carried with her.

"I wish father put his own life ahead of mine. Then he'd be here...with mother...right now."

"And?"

Erza and Hilda looked to the door. A tall, redheaded woman stood in front of it, her hair down to her elbows, carrying a spear in her right hand, looking very elegant and proud.

"Your hair looks nice like this. It's been awhile since you last let it down," Hilda commented.

"It has, hasn't it?"

She walked up to Erza who lowered her head.

"Continue. You were saying something."

Erza closed her eyes and clenched both hands tightly as if about to burst.

However, the moment she heard her mother sigh, her entire body relaxed for an unexplainable reason.

_"_You're very foolish." She knelt down in front of her daughter and pet her head.

"This is for you. Though you might not be able to use it right now."

"A...spear?"

"That's right. The Magic Spear. Ten Commandments. It used to be your father's."

"But...why are you giving it to me?"

"Because he wanted you to have it when the time was right."

Erza held onto the spear in awe. She could feel how strong a weapon it was.

"Happy birthday, Erza."

Erza's eyes filled with tears as her mother held her for the first time in 3 years.

* * *

Opening her eyes once more, she thought, '_That's right...That was the first time in three years that she embraced me...And then that same night...she vanished..."_

Erza looked up at the moon as nostalgia hit her.

_Mother...Where are you?_

She shook her head.

_She never once said she didn't hate me...She probably does. _

She was brought back to the present by a sudden, very strong cough.

She gently moved Lucy away and got up because the taste of the blood made her feel nauseous.

_At least you waited until she was asleep. Thanks, that was very sweet of you._

Sarcasm. She held onto her chest as she fell to her knees, coughing again.

Looking over to Lucy, her heart broke when she noticed the sleeping girl calling out to her and trying to grasp her.

"Lucy..."

As though the name was a remedy, her cough died down.

When a breeze blew their way, the knight decided it was time to head inside, as the weather was getting colder. She had been used to the cold, but doubted Lucy was the same. She fixed her dress, covering her exposed chest and knelt down in front of Lucy. She did the same thing for the sleeping girl, by covering her chest and lowering the bottom half of the dress to its place. She took her in her arms, smiling, remembering how she carried her like this when she first found her. The coat was still snug around the blonde. The sleeping girl smiled as she sensed Erza's warmth next to her. Even in Erza's weakened state, Lucy was light enough to carry. Erza was relieved at this.

"What kind of knight can't carry her princess?"

The moment she thought this out loud, she was surprised at the image in her head. She let out a laugh as she looked at Lucy and began to walk back to the palace. Her walk was slower than usual, as she wanted to take in the night with the girl she loved.

'_Lucy...Please...don't leave m-," _her thought was cut short by the sudden sound of breaking glass.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are welcome!**

** If anything seemed confusing, just let me know.**


	11. A Remedy and a Clue

**Hey guys. Sorry for that 1 week break. Things got hectic over here with exams and assignments. Anyways, chapter 11 is up. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Erza?! Erza! Are you alright?! You're coughing blood!"

Erza wiped the corner of her lips with the back of her hand

"I'm fine."

"You are not! You've had that cough for a week now! It's getting worse!"

"I said I'm fine."

Erza replied going back to her books.

Lucy slammed the book in front of the redhead shut.

Erza looked up menacingly.

"Go see a doctor, Erza"

"I don't have time for senseless visits."

"...Senseless?! This is your health we're talking about!"

"AND THIS IS LUCY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

The blonde was taken aback by Erza's outburst.

The requip mage realized how she had raised her voice and slumped back, apologizing.

"Sorry Ashley..."

Lucy placed her hand on Erza shoulder.

"It's alright. She means alot to you, doesn't she..."

"...I don't know...I don't know what she means to me..."

Erza closed her eyes and remembered her dream.

_What was I going to say...I can't reme-_

A dry cough enveloped her lungs.

"Erza, I'm begging you. Go see a doctor."

The redhead looked at the short haired blonde and saw the worry in her eyes. She sighed and got up her chair in the storage room.

"Alright. I'll go see the old woman."

Lucy smiled in relief, but wondered who Erza was talking about. However, before she could ask, Erza motioned her to follow.

They walked into the forest much to Lucy's surprise.

"Erza...where are we going?"

When Erza didn't answer and stopped walking, Lucy moved up next to her.

"Erza?"

"Po...rl...y..."

"Erza?!"

The redhead fell on Lucy as her body gave out.

"Erza! Hey! Come on! Open your eyes! I have no idea who this Porly person is!"

"That would be Porlyusica."

Lucy held the redhead and looked up to the voice. An elderly pink haired woman was standing a bit further away.

"Huh. Turned into a delinquent now have you?"

The woman said, knowing the girl in front of her was an entirely different person.

"What?! Who do you think you are, you old hag?!"

"You haven't been here in quite a while, have you?"

Porlyusica spoke, looking at the heaving Erza.

"Don't you ignore me, grandma!"

"Trash."

"W-what did you just say?!"

"I called you-"

"E..nough, Lucy. L..Let her be. She d..doesn't...li...ke...hu...ma..."

"Erza!"

The pink haired advisor sighed and instructed Lucy to take Erza and follow her.

The short haired blonde couldn't bridally carry Erza, so she used herself as support for the redhead, by putting the latter's arm around her neck and slowly walking.

They arrived to Porlyusica's house. Lucy was instructed to put Erza on the bed, which she did. Erza was heaving and coughing violently.

"How did you get so sick? Your magic wasn't drained out from what I can sense."

"She has been exhausting herself for the past two weeks...She barely ate and slept. Whenever someone offered her a hand or tried talking to her, she would shoo them away...She hasn't talked to anyone lately aside from me. And I don't even count since I'm not a guildmate..."

Lucy replied worryingly.

Porlyusica walked to her ingredient shelf and made a rather bad smelling mixture.

Erza slowly opened her eyes as she whimpered Lucy's name.

The blonde knew the redhead wasn't talking to her, but the scene being strangely familiar to her, she grabbed her hand nonetheless, whispering, "I'm here, Erza."

The sick mage closed her eyes once more.

Porlyusica walked over with her newly made concoction and instructed Lucy to lift Erza up a bit. The blonde parted Erza's lips enough for the liquid to go through. Erza swallowed the horrid tasting medicine and let out a cough.

"Will this help her? She was coughing blood earlier."

Lucy stated as she put Erza back down.

"Only if she rests. Why has she been exhausting herself so much?"

Lucy looked at Erza with sad eyes and then looked at Porlyusica.

"It's my fault."

That raised the pink haired woman's curiosity.

"I'm not from this world. I'm Lucy from another dimension...I know, it's hard to believe, right?"

"Not as hard as you may think," she answered as she sat on the chair closest to her, a bit farther away from the patient and the girl.

"I think the Lucy from this world and I switched places, though I'm not sure how."

"Dragons..." Porlyusica mumbled as she uncaringly looked at the floor.

"Dragons?" Lucy commented, catching her mumbling. "Are dragons the answer?"

Erza slowly opened her eyes and looked at Porlyusica.

"You, go back to sleep."

"No. I'm feeling better."

"Listen girl. My potions aren't miracle workers."

Erza ignored her and slowly got up.

"Erza...please lie down."

The redhead looked at the worried girl. She decided to sit on the bed instead of getting up.

"I really am feeling better though."

"That won't last long if you go pushing yourself again," Porlyusica commented.

Erza ignored her and spoke, "So finding a dragon will help get Lucy back?"

"I don't know," Porlyusica stated, "but I've heard rumors of dragons being able to pass through dimensions."

"Then...could dragons themselves make an anima?" This peaked Erza's interest.

"I don't know."

"Well, it could be a possibility, right?!" Erza said as she was getting out of bed.

However, before she could, Porlyusica threw a broom her way which made Erza gulp and go back to bed.

"I said I don't know."

Erza nodded with sweat dripping down her forehead.

_What a scary woman...I feel sorry for Erza..._

Porlyusica looked at Lucy with a glare, "Did you say something?"

Lucy vehemently shook her head.

"Anyways. Why are you pushing yourself so hard for her? I understand she's your friend, but getting this sick is excessive."

Erza wasn't expecting Porlyusica of all people to ask something like that.

"I..." Erza looked down at her hands.

"Don't know?" Porlyusica finished.

Erza turned her head to face Porlyusica. Her eyes widened when she saw a smirk on the old woman's face.

"You're slow, aren't you?"

Erza wasn't sure how to react to that question.

Porlyusica got up and walked to her cabinet where she took out two bottles medicine.

She walked over to Erza.

"The liquid is for your cough, the pill is for your fever. Try not to push yourself even more."

Erza took both bottles and said thank you.

"Now then. Leave."

Lucy looked at the old woman with a question mark over her head.

"But you said she needed rest..."

"She had her rest. Leave. I hate your presence. Brings everything down."

"What kind of doctor are you?!"

Lucy got up from her seat angrily.

"No one said I'm a doctor."

"Come on Lucy, don't sweat it. That's just how Porlyusica-san is."

Erza was already up and at the door.

"But..."

"Don't worry about it," Erza smiled, "I am feeling mostly better. See? I haven't coughed since I took the medicine!"

Lucy nodded and went to her. Before the door closed behind them, Porlyusica spoke, "Stop pushing yourself so hard, Erza."

Erza smiled as the door closed and they walked away.

* * *

They got back to the storage room, Lucy confused.

_I thought this was rest time..._

Erza sat back on the chair and started going through books again.

"I should borrow Levy's reading glasses...all of this can go much faster...Why hadn't I thought of it before?"

_Because you've been busy being an angsty mess?_

Lucy mentally commented.

"Erza, what are you doing? I thought Porlyusica-san told you to rest."

"She did. I have medication now though, so it's alright. The sooner I find the answer, the better. I think she said something about dragons right?"

Erza was once again immersed in her research.

_Lucy...I'm going to bring you back. I promise._

All the books on the desk were suddenly on the floor. Erza looked up to Lucy who swiped the entire table clean.

"What are you doing?!"

"You were told to rest! Why aren't you resting?!"

"Because I have to find Lucy!"

"You're going to die like this!"

"If it means Lucy's return, I don't care!"

"And what about your guildmates?! You think they won't care?! Losing one member so another can come back?! What kind of logic do you have?!"

Erza was going to glare at Lucy when she heard the blonde's voice begin to break.

"Your guildmates...they love you! Both of you! Stop pushing yourself so hard that they end up worrying about you like this! Please!"

The short haired blonde was filled with tears. Her hands were in fists and her eyes closed as she tried to stop the tears.

Erza got up from her seat, the scene breaking her heart. She walked towards the blonde who looked up to her.

The redhead was completely taken aback by the crying Lucy.

She cupped the girl's cheek and wiped a falling tear.

"Lucy...I'm sorry," she whispered as she looked at the blonde.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Drop a review if you'd like.**


	12. Her Worried Family's New Idea

**Chapter 12 is up. More Scarlet. We'll be going back to Knightwalker pretty soon though! Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Lucy was surprised at Erza's touch so much that she gently pushed her away and wiped her tears. Crying was embarrassing for her.

She shook her head.

"It's ok. You don't need to apologize. Everyone is just worried about you."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll try not to worry anyone."

Lucy smiled.

_Seeing her cry...It was as though my heart had just been pierced...I don't want to see that again..._

"I'll take the day off."

That seemed to light up Lucy's face.

"Really?!"

"Yes. Really. I'll spend some time with the guild."

Lucy felt relieved as they left the storage room.

Erza went to Mira's bar who was surprised to see her out of the storage.

"Erza...are you done with your research?"

Erza shook her head as she asked for a drink.

"I just took a day off. Didn't want to worry anyone."

"Implying you didn't already..." Mira mumbled.

A few others gathered around Erza and the conversation went to any clues people might have found. Erza pointed out how Porlyusica had hinted that dragons might be behind this, to which Natsu exclaimed his surprise and joy.

"Natsu, calm down. We aren't sure. This is all just speculation," Jet spoke.

"That still means we could meet a dragon!" Natsu's excitement was clear as day.

"Well...if they still exist..." Droy commented to which Natsu roared that they did.

"Did Porlyusica say anything about how the dragons might be related to this?" Gray enquired.

Erza shook her head.

"The ability to traverse dimensions."

Everyone looked at Makarov when he spoke.

"Dragons are said to have that ability."

"So what? A dragon took Lucy and Lucy and had them switch?" Natsu wondered scratching his head.

"That is a possibility..." Lucy said

"Don't be foolish. Why would a dragon purposely take both of you and have you switch places?" Erza spoke up.

"Well...maybe they're whimsical. Any of yours like that?" Elfman asked the three slayers.

"Not Igneel. He didn't do jokes."

"Grandine teased but she was very kind. She would never do something hurtful like this."

"Metalicanna was an ass. He was too indifferent to do something like this though."

Makarov titled his head down and crossed his arms.

"Hmmm...Those three are probably out of the question..."

"Oh oh! If dragons can go through dimensions, maybe dragon slayers can too!"

Natsu exclaimed.

"That's a far fetched theory... Though I guess not entirely impossible..." Erza contemplated.

The guild was silent for a while. They were stumped. Erza sighed and let out a smile. Instead of being cooped up in the storage, she could have asked her guildmates for help and shared ideas with them. Lucy saw Erza's smile and was relieved.

"Maybe...ask other guilds?" Wendy whispered.

"We could ask Blue Pegasus." Makarov spoke, " That pretty boy's archive magic might be able to help us."

"Master! Thats a great idea!" Mira said ," Archive magic should be faster than Erza reading through hundreds of books."

Erza blushed at this, feeling embarrassed.

"Hey, maybe asking the Council is a better idea. They're knowledgeable about lost magic too right?" Gray spoke.

Natsu glared at him, "Why don't we just ask a Dark Guild while we're at it?!"

The two started bickering and surprisingly, Erza didn't stop them.

"Wait!" Natsu yelled right as Gray was going to land another punch. The ice Mage stopped looking confused.

"Kihihihi..."

"That's a scary laugh..." Levy commented.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this before!"

"What is it Natsu?" Erza wondered, the fire mages behavior catching her interest.

"Let's free Jellal!"

The randomness of his statement had most of the guild confused and Erza frozen in place. Makarov nodded saying it made sense. Jellal was knowledgeable of a lot of different types magic.

Lucy looked at Erza and asked if Jellal was the new King's Earthland version.

However, Erza didn't respond. She was staring at her glass with wide eyes.

"Jel...lal..." Erza closed her eyes and thought back to Lucy's draft and her dream.

"Come on guys! It's a great idea!"

"He's in a high profile prison Natsu. How do you expect us to free him? Barge in and destroy everything?" Carla asked.

"Sure?"

Nearly everyone yelled at him saying he was stupid.

"I'm not stupid! He's our Nakama! We have to free him eventually!"

Listening to a conversation about Jellal and Nakama in the same conversation made Erza laugh out loud. She looked at Natsu, "Lucy would rather be stuck in Edolas than be saved by Jellal."

"What?! Why?!"

Erza looked away and thought to herself, "I wonder what she'd think if she heard Natsu right now."

"Erza!"

The redhead looked back at Natsu.

"Why wouldn't Lucy want to be saved by him?! He's our friend! Our Nakama!"

"She doesn't think that."

"Why not?!"

Erza had begun to get irritated.

"It's none of our business, Natsu."

Mirajane spoke, seeing Erza beginning to lose patience.

"But Mira! Don't you think its weird?"

Mirajane let out a sad smile.

"Not as weird as you may think," she said as she looked at Erza.

"Erza...come on! We can rescue him and if he helps, we can just pretend he didn't! Don't you want to see him again?!"

"...What do you want us to do, Natsu? Barge in? Destroy everything in our path as Carla suggested? Become a Dark Guild?!"

Erza raised her voice.

Makarov who was sitting on the bar next to her patted her shoulder.

Erza instantly calmed down and looked at her Master.

"This is the new Council, so it might be a bit more complicated, but we can plead for an audience with the prisoner."

"Lets do that then!"

Natsu exclaimed, however got a punch from Makarov.

"If we are to do this, it will only be me, Lucy and Erza who go."

"EEEEH?! WHY?! I WANT TO-"

"Enough, Natsu!"

Erza landed a blow to his face which had him instantly shut up.

"What do you think Erza?" Makarov asked.

"I think this is a bad idea, and its going to be a pain. One wrong move and we can end up in jail with him."

"And that's why we aren't taking Natsu."

Everyone laughed at Makarov's comment, aside from natsu who was sulking.

"Don't worry Natsu." The fire mage looked at his friendly-rival, the ice mage.

"Erza and Master will do their best. Lucy will be back home soon."

"That's right." Erza confirmed.

Everyone roared in agreement as Makarov, Lucy and Erza were leaving for Era.

"Uh...wait...Wasn't the Council's headquarter in Era destroyed during the Tower of Heaven incident?"

Gray's comment froze everyone in place, specially Erza.

* * *

**Hope you liked the chapter. Stay tuned for more. Drop a review!**


	13. A Knight at Death's Door

**Chapter 13! Back to Knightwalker.**

**I moved a few chapters around because too much Scarlet back to back would be tiring, and I know most of you want to find out what happens with Knightwalker.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The sudden sound of breaking glass startled Lucy awake. Erza put her down and looked at the direction of sudden outbursts and screaming. Lucy tightened her grip on the coat, not sure what to expect.

The redhead looked at the worried blonde. She faced the celestial mage and placed her hands firmly on the latter's shoulders, having Lucy face her.

"Go to your room. I'll be back soon."

Lucy wrapped her arms around Erza's waist like a child not wanting to let go.

"Are you telling me the truth?"

Erza nodded.

"I promise I will come back to you," she replied as she quickly kissed Lucy's forehead and ran towards the commotion.

"Go to your room!" She yelled along the way to Lucy.

* * *

The knight quickly made her way to the ball edifice, where the celebration was taking place. Soldiers were in front of it, trying to control the raging crowd that wanted to run away.

"Please! Calm down! The situation is under control! Return to the ball room! You will be free to leave once we have conducted a quick presence check!"

Erza walked up to one of her trainee soldiers who was trying to contain the situation.

"Captain Knightwalker!" The young soldier fixed himself.

"What's going on here? What's with all the ruckus?" Erza questioned.

"Well..."

"Erza!"

The redhead turned to the voice calling her.

"Sugarboy? What's going on?"

"Hughes..."

"..."

"..."

Sugarboy remained quiet.

"...Well?! What of Hughes?" Erza's patience was very little at the moment.

"He tried to assassinate the King!" The trainee spoke up.

Erza raised an eyebrow to this.

"Why would Hughes want to assassinate him? What would he gain? Are you sure it was him?"

The trainee walked up to her and nodded, adding "We all saw him!"

"If you saw him, then why on earth didn't you stop him?" Erza inquired in a scolding manner.

The trainee looked down in shame.

"Don't blame the kids. Plus, where were YOU during this time?" Sugarboy asked.

Erza glared at him, then sighed.

"By tried, you mean he wasn't successful?"

Sugarboy nodded.

"The King is fine, he wasn't even injured."

"That's to be expected, this is Hughes. The only thing he was good at was his amusement park magic," Erza commented.

She motioned for Sugarboy to continue.

"He ran into the forest, towards the hunting grounds, but they managed to injure him so he couldn't have gotten too far away."

The redheaded knight took her heels off, and ripped the side of her dress to allow her to run.

"E-Erza?! Hilda-san's going to kill you for that..."

"I don't care about Hilda right now. Give me a sword."

The trainee was about to give her his sword, when Coco ran towards her yelling her name.

"Coco? What-"

"YOUR SPEAR!"

Coco threw the Ten Commandments as strong as she could. Erza caught it with one hand, wondering how the kid knew she needed it.

"SAY THANK YOU TO LUCY WHEN YOU GET BACK!"

Lucy hadn't gone to her room. Lucy was in the barracks. Why was Lucy in the barracks? Did she not trust Erza? Did she go back to her room yet?

Worrisome thoughts coursed through Erza's mind.

_She's fine, Erza. You're just being overprotective. She does not belong to you._

She let out a smirk when she thought this, as an hour ago, between gasps, moans and groans, Lucy was clearly saying how much she belonged to Erza.

"I won't let this idiot ruin what I have."

"Erza?" Sugarboy looked at her curiously.

"Come on. We'll split up. The hunting grounds and the forest are both massive."

Sugarboy nodded.

Erza looked at the trainee.

"Once you make sure everyone is safe, send reinforcements."

The young trainee nodded as Erza and Sugarboy made their way to the forest, the redhead going left and the blonde going right.

* * *

_My body isn't holding me down... An adrenaline rush? I don't feel weak..._

But Erza knew that the exhaustion would get to her once the rush died down. However, she did not want to think of it at the moment. She passed the slope and slowed down as she heared footsteps. She quickly turned around, spear readied, when she feelt someone behind her.

"Wait! It's me. Erza, it's me. Lucy!"

Erza's guard lessened as she spoke, "I can see that for myself, thank you."

Her voice had a sting to it.

"I told you to go to your room. You disobeyed me twice."

"I was worried! You just suddenly left me in the middle of a garden!"

Erza walked over to Lucy who was on the verge of tears. She used her free hand to pet the blonde and held her close.

"Sorry. I just want you to be-"

Erza stopped talking. Her eyes began inspecting their surroundings, her worry increasing.

"Lucy, you have to leave."

"But-"

Erza suddenly pushed Lucy away, only having a split second to dodge. The knife left a shallow cut on her waist. She held her bleeding waist and commented on Hughes' cowardice, adding, "But then again, you're a weakling. I can't even fathom why you were given a position in the Royal army. Faust was a foolish man to give you such power."

"Amazing. That's amazing! You were barely able to dodge it!"

Erza glared towards the direction of the voice, the moonlight revealing Hughes in his suit on a tree branch.

"When on earth did assassins start to dress so formal?" Erza commented.

"I was at an amazing celebration!"

"Oh? Given the commotion over there, I didn't notice."

"Why are you doing this Erza? Why are you siding with him?"

"Siding? With who? The King? Please don't make me laugh. I'm siding with the Kingdom."

"I'm siding with the Kingdom!"

"By killing the king?"

"This world needs magic! He's the reason we no longer have any! Killing him and undoing what he's done is the key to getting magic back!"

"I don't need magic anymore."

"Liar. You're craving for it even now. It's obvious."

"I-"

Her body suddenly caught up with her earlier rush. An incredible amount of exhaustion entered her as she coughed up blood.

"Hoooo...So the rumors were true. Well, at this point, killing you would be pointless. You'll be dead soon anyways."

Erza lost balance and fell to her knees. She dropped her spear, covering her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

Erza turned around to a wide eyed Lucy seeking answers.

"What do you mean she'll be dead soon?!"

The blonde ran up to the fallen knight.

"Erza!"

"Stay back," she responded, heaving.

"I think I'll kill her instead. Seeing your lover killed in front of your eyes, right before your death. Doesn't that sound amazing?"

"Erza, why does he keep saying that?" Lucy held Erza when she noticed bleeding from her waist and blood on both hands.

The knight let out a low growl as she grabbed her spear and slowly got up.

"Stay back!"

"But-"

Before Lucy could finish, Hughes jumped from the tree branch towards her, with astonishing speed and a barrage of knives. Erza barely managed to cover Lucy, dropping her spear in the process. They tumbled down the slope as a knife went into the knight's back thigh.

Lucy lifted her head from Erza's chest and noticed they were at the bottom of the slope.

"Here. Not like you can do much with it in your condition though."

Lucy looked up to the voice. Hughes kicked down the Ten Commandments that landed at the trunk of a tree near them.

"Have an amazing time dying. It was nice knowing you, Captain Knightwalker."

Erza was barely conscious. She let out a violent bloody cough, which had Lucy immediately on her.

"Erza, what's happening?! I know this isn't just because of a cut..."

"Don't...worry. I'm alright."

"I can see you aren't!"

"Do...me a...favour...Rip a...part...from your dress...and wrap it...around my thigh."

Lucy unquestioningly ripped the bottom of her dress, however noticed the knife was still in the redhead's thigh. She looked at Erza for guidance. The latter nodded, indicating that she should remove the knife.

"Lu...cy... Quickly pull it...out..." Erza's breathing was gradually getting heavier.

Lucy gulped, tears starting to form in her eyes. She held Erza's thigh with one hand and the knife with the other. She tried her best to pull the knife out as quickly as possible, causing Erza to scream in pain.

The blonde winced, unable to stand seeing the redhead in pain. She wrapped Erza's thigh and looked back to her.

_Dammit...I can barely stay awake...My whole body's in pain._

Erza looked at the crying Lucy. She slowly lifted her arm and cupped the blonde's cheek, who removed another part of her dress and wrapped it around the redhead's bleeding waist.

"...Lucy...that's enough crying...I'm alright."

Lucy teared up even more, feeling like a failure, blaming herself for this.

"If...I just listened to you! If I just went to my room...This...this wouldn't have happened! You...You would have defeated him! It's all my fault!"

Erza shook her head.

"None... of..this... is...your fault," she continued with a quiet whisper,"...Lucy...I...love you."

Lucy kissed her and replied with teary eyes and a sad smile, "I love you too."

The blonde gently placed her head on Erza's chest and spoke, "I can't believe how lucky I was to be found by you...I'm content. I do miss my friends, but I'm happy with you, here. Erza, I love you. For who you are. I love you...so please...don't leave me...I don't want to be without you..."

The knight was quiet.

Lucy looked up and saw her eyes were closed.

"Erza?"

She nudged her.

"Hey...You're just sleeping right? Erza...Wake up..."

A few more nudges, but no response.

"Erza...Please wake up...If this is a joke, it's not funny...Erza...Erza, please! I'm begging you!"

Nothing. Not even a grunt. The blonde's arms went limp as she gently held onto her fallen knight and cried, unaware that a figure had slowly stepped out of the shadows behind her.

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**Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed!**

**If you decide to leave a review, tell me who you think the figure is!**


	14. An Unexpected Conversation

**Chapter 14. I cut out two chapters because they seemed pretty boring and weren't exactly needed. **

**Either chapter 15 or 16 will be the last, depending how I pace things. Also, contemplating doing a sequel. Will let you know in the last chapter!**

**In any case, enjoy the chapter.**

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She slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

"Where...am...I?" she whispered as she tried to get up. She was laying on her stomach. She tried to put weight on her arms to lift her up, however was not successful.

"I can barely move...My whole body is in pain."

She tried to look around, however all she was able to see was darkness. Suddenly, voices caught her tired attention.

"Why?! Why do YOU have to sacrifice yourself?"

"Don't talk like that. She's our daughter."

"We can have another child!"

"LISTEN TO YOURSELF!"

She looked around, and noticed a man and a woman talking to each other in the darkness. The woman held her face, surprised at her behaviour.

"I...I didn't mean it that way...I love Erza! But..."

The man moved up to her and held her in his arms.

"I know. I love you."

She held onto him tightly.

"However," he spoke, "you must promise me two things."

She looked up at him.

"You must never blame her and you have to love her as you always have."

She slowly let go of him and looked away. They were absorbed by the darkness and vanished.

Another failed attempt at getting up. Her body felt like lead.

"Erza...Darling, are you asleep?"

That caught the knight's attention.

A mother was on her sleeping daughter's bedside.

"Those clothes..." the knight murmured as she watched the scene.

_This must be the night she left..._

The woman gently pet her daughter's head. The girl slowly opened her eyes and then closed them back, getting closer to her mother. The woman let out a smile as she softly held her daughter.

She whispered, more so to herself, "I'm sorry...for having been such a bad mother these past few years. Erza, you must know that I love you so much." She kissed the girl's cheek and nuzzled protectively. "Tomorrow, when you're wide awake, we'll go to the training grounds together. I'll teach you how to use your new spear." She let her daughter go, not before gently kissing her forehead. She turned around to look at her once more before leaving the room, and whispered "Sleep well, my little knight."

"DON'T MESS WITH ME!" Erza yelled as the scene dissolved into nothingness. "THAT IS NOT MY MOTHER!" She tried to get up once more, fuelled with anger. However, she fell back down for the third time.

"That's not...my...mother," she whispered to the darkness beneath her.

The sudden sound of footsteps had her quickly face their way.

"Knightwalker...? Is that you?"

The person emanating the footsteps spoke unsurely.

"What? You can see me?"

"That depends. Are you lying on your stomach on the ground?"

"...Are you dead too, Scarlet?"

"I shouldn't be." The requip mage scratched at her head.

"What were you doing before you ended up here?"

Before answering Knightwalker's question, Scarlet walked over to her and gave her a hand to get up.

"Thanks."

"I was in Lucy's room."

Knightwalker glared, "Why were you in her room?"

Scarlet lifted an eyebrow, wondering why Knightwalker cared, but decided to answer nonetheless, "I had just come back from seeing a friend in prison, and I was stumped so I went to Lucy's for a bit. Since we occasionally gathered there as a team to relax."

"Stumped? Why were you...wait...before that. You clearly aren't dead, so why are you here?"

"I don't even know where here is. Why would you assume I'm dead? Wait...are you dead?"

"Who knows. I remember chasing Hughes, and then we tumbled down the slope, and then Lucy-"

"-You saw Lucy?!"

"Well, yes? She's been with me for two weeks after all."

Scarlet fell to her knees relief coursing through her.

"So she's fine...Thank goodness."

"So what were you saying...?"

"What?"

"Stumped. Why were you stumped?"

Scarlet nodded, "Right. I had just received a lot of new information."

"That information had better revolve on returning Lucy to Earthland."

Scarlet was surprised at how much Knightwalker seemed to care for Lucy.

"You really care for her, don't you?"

Knightwalker gritted her teeth as she thought back to their last moments in the forest.

"You can't be serious... You two are in love?!"

This caught Knightwalker's attention and she immediately looked at Scarlet, who was looking at another scene.

Lucy was crying on top of Knightwalker's still body.

Knighterwalker looked away from the scene, clenching her fists. She turned her head to Scarlet who was still immersed in what she was seeing. This sparked Knightwalker as she pounced herself onto the mage. Scarlet was taken aback and fell, Knightwalker pinning her to the ground. The knight looked at her angrily but the requip mage could see the sadness in her eyes.

The moment a pair of footsteps were heard, both turned their heads to the sound.

"Who...is that...?" Scarlet whispered at the shadow behind Lucy.

"LUCY!" Knightwalker roared as she let go of Scarlet and ran to Lucy. However, the more she ran, the more the distance grew. To Scarlet however, Knightwalker wasn't running. She was staring wide eyed at the scene.

"LUCY! RUN AWAY! PLEASE! LUCY!"

Scarlet walked up to her to calm her down; however Knightwalker turned around and yelled at her.

"TAKE HER BACK! TAKE HER BACK TO EARTHLAND RIGHT NOW! HOW LAZY HAVE YOU BEEN THAT YOU COULDN'T FIND A WAY IN TWO WEEKS?! WERE YOU EVEN LOOKING FOR A WAY?!"

Scarlet pushed Knightwalker off of her and held her in place.

"Get a hold of yourself! I've been searching for a way these past two weeks!"

Knightwalker calmed herself and looked back to Lucy but there was nothing there. She fell to her knees and whispered her lover's name.

Suddenly, they both began to vanish.

"Are we going back?" Scarlet wondered.

"Scarlet...Promise me you'll find a way..." the disheartened knight quietly said.

The mage nodded right before they both disappeared.

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**This was the shortest chapter I've written for this fic. Oh well. Hope you liked it. See you next week!**


	15. An Unpredictable Outcome

**I decided to cut the last chapter into 2.**

** Enjoy~ And I do hope there aren't typos. You can only proofread so much.**

**Also, thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot to me.**

***Lariie, you're alive! Haha, wow. No worries, I forgive you!**

* * *

"Wake up Erza!"

"If you keep shaking her like that, she will never wake up," An unfamiliar voice spoke out behind her.

"W-who are you?! Stay away!" Lucy let out, trying to protect Erza's body.

The shadow walked out from under the tree. The moonlight hitting her face. Lucy hadn't seen this woman before, but she seemed very familiar, with her long dark red hair reaching down to her knees, wrapped in a delicately loose ponytail near the end, with two sheathed swords on her sides. Though not very obvious, there were signs of wrinkles beginning to show on the woman's face.

"Who are you?" Lucy whispered, unsure of the woman's intent.

"Your savior."

"What?" Lucy repeatedly blinked.

The woman pointed towards the tree. Hughes was tied up, beaten and unconscious.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear the ruckus he was causing. But I'm more surprised at your knight's condition."

Lucy blushed. No one had called Erza her knight before. At least, not that she could remember at the moment. She quickly shook her head, knowing this wasn't the time for pleasantries.

The redheaded woman inspected Lucy's body.

The blonde suddenly covered her mouth and looked at the stranger with wide eyes.

_She can't be... Could she? Should I ask her name? But that wouldn't do me any good...no... Right now Erza is my top priority._

"Can she be saved?"

However the woman did not answer. She kept looking at Lucy intently until she finally found what she was looking for.

"You're from Earthland, are you not?"

Lucy nodded, surprised the woman knew.

"How?"

"Your keys, and the symbol on your hand."

"But Edolas Fairy Tail has the same symbol..."

"Indeed, but differentiating the two is fairly easy. At least for me. Spending 7 years in Earthland wasn't for naught in the end. Little Knight, you're lucky." She said as she turned.

The woman let out a smile and took a small pouch out of her coat.

"I'm assuming you've been here for 2 weeks, right?"

Lucy nodded, still very confused.

"Have you used any magic since coming here?"

"No...I haven't had any means to..."

The woman nodded and took out a small brown pill-like ball.

"Ah! An X-ball, right?"

"That's right. You know of these?"

"I was sent here once before and a friend had given us some at the time."

"Is that so? These used to be experimental pills. Made to see if we could forcefully develop magic within our bodies. Though it ended up being more useful to people who already had magic in them."

The woman handed a pill to Lucy.

"Your magic supply is enough. If you had a bigger reserve it would have been preferable but make do with what you have, right?"

Lucy swallowed the bitter tasting pill.

"What you're about to do isn't healing magic. You just have to let the lacrima inside Erza's body absorb your magic."

"I don't understand...why does she have lac-" Lucy stopped, remembering what Erza had recounted to her in the King's Garden.

"You've grown so much, Erza."

Lucy looked at the woman who had a gentle smile on her face. She was sure of it, of who this woman was. But she needed confirmation.

The redheaded woman knew what she wanted to ask.

"I'll answer whatever you want, after you transfer the magic. The lacrima will activate and heal her lungs and cuts."

_Lungs?_

"We've taken too much time already, come on."

Lucy nervously nodded and put her hands above Erza's still body.

Magic began to flow through Lucy, into Erza's body.

"But I thought Edolas no longer had magic..."

"It doesn't. My swords, as well as Erza's spear, are ineffective here."

"Then how?"

"Your body has stored magic from the last time you were in Earthland. That magic doesn't vanish. The pill helped unlock it."

Lucy's magic was swiftly swallowed up by the lacrima, and the blonde nearly fainted.

"Let's hope she hasn't crossed over."

Lucy looked at Erza on the verge of tears once more.

"You had something you wanted to ask me?"

Lucy somewhat nudged herself and whispered while holding Erza, "How could you abandon your own daughter?"

"That wasn't what you had intended to ask."

"It still comes back to the same thing," Lucy quietly said.

"I don't like your assumptions."

"How are they assumptions?!"

"You don't know anything about me, and you clearly take word for word whatever an emotional child says to you."

Lucy glared at the older woman angrily.

"Glare all you want. It doesn't change the fact that I had no control over what happened."

Lucy didn't feel like dealing with this. Her entire magic reservoir was drained and she could barely stay conscious as is.

She heard a gentle sigh. When she looked up, the redheaded woman was next to Erza. She took her coat off and wrapped it around her daughter.

"I guess you aren't all that bad..." Lucy mumbled.

The woman sat at the tree trunk closest to her daughter and the Earthland mage.

"Ten years ago, my husband, her father, passed away."

Lucy looked at Erza and breathed a sigh a relief when she felt warmth had returned to her body, and she was breathing once more. She moved around her body, fell to her knees and gently moved Erza's head to rest on her thighs. She looked at Erza's face and let out a sad smile.

"I never expected that she'd fall in love with another woman," a rather uncaring response, Lucy noted.

"For three years, even though I had promised my husband not to, I blamed Erza for his death. I shouldn't have, as she wasn't responsible. And I knew if I stayed around her for too long, I would end up hurting her. So, for most of those three years, I was barely around. I had asked Hilda to take care of her."

"On her 13th birthday, I decided to give her the Ten Commandments. It belonged to her father, and he always said he wanted her to have it when the time was right. Of course, as much as he loved Erza, it was obvious he wished to have given it to a son. I don't blame him," she shrugged, "that's how things are here. Male Knights want to pass on their knighthood to their sons. In any event, the night of her birthday, I told her that I'd take her out to train with her new spear the next day. Of course, she was asleep, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have kept my word."

"Let me guess. You didn't keep your word," Lucy didn't mean for it, but the tone in her voice was somewhat judging.

If the woman caught it, she paid it no mind, "I went to the training grounds that night. It's a short walk from where we are now. I decided to prepare the terrain and the strawmen for training the next day. That's when I noticed the clouds in certain areas had begun to act up."

"Anima?" Lucy whispered.

"Yes. I heard guards yelling for the prince. Assuming something had happened to him, I ran to the closest anima. The Prince wasn't there. And before I knew it, neither was I. For some reason, that even now I am unable to answer, I was sent to Earthland."

Lucy looked up from Erza, "You've been in Earthland for the past 7 years?!"

She nodded, "I told you I wasn't at fault. I spent the past 7 years trying to find a way to come back here. I met the prince a few times. I talked to your guild master too. Since he apparently knew someone who had come from Edolas long before me. Of course, he didn't tell me who it was. Seven years passed as I watched Erza's Earthland counterpart, wondering how my daughter was going through life. In the end, two weeks ago, all that brought me back here was a dragon's roar."

Lucy blinked repeatedly. "What?"

"Dragons are capable of travelling through dimensions. Of course, I have no idea what one would be doing in Edolas. I don't know how dragons think, and I honestly don't care to know. The last thing I remember before ending up here was a Dragon's roar."

"So, a dragon could take me back to Earthland?" Lucy wondered.

"Sure, assuming you can find one."

The blonde let out a small smile, which widened considerably when she looked at her lover. She couldn't control her tears.

"Lucy... I thought I told you to stop crying," a slow and painful response, but a response nonetheless.

Lucy held onto her tightly as she cried, relieved.

Moving her arm, Erza gently wrapped it around Lucy, and weakly held her, as she let out a smile.

Her eyes slowly shifted to the man a bit further away, tied up and unconscious. She then looked a bit closer, to the woman sitting at the tree trunk closest to them.

Neither of them spoke. All that could be heard was Lucy's crying.

"Thank...you..." The younger redhead spoke up quietly, however she was unaware of who the woman was. Her gut told her that without this woman, she wouldn't be awake at the moment. If she had paid more attention however, she'd have noticed who the woman was.

The older one got up with her eyes closed, shook the dirt off of her clothes and said, "There is no need to thank me. I didn't do anything. I hope you realize your waking now doesn't mean you're going to live past the hour."

"Even so," she winced in pain, "an hour more...with her, I couldn't ask for more...in my position."

_I wonder if what I saw was real...What was that anyways? Was that actually Scarlet? Or was I imagining it? What about the things I saw of my mother?_

"Erza," Lucy whispered, kissing her forehead.

The knight looked at her. Lucy brought their lips together for a tender and loving kiss.

"I'm sorry, Lucy."

The blonde shook her head as she held Erza tighter.

"You have two choices. Of course, one is mostly based on luck."

This caught Erza's attention as she slowly looked back to the woman beneath the tree.

"You can either stay here and die once the magic in the magic in the lacrima dissolves, or you can go to Earthland with the girl. That is, of course, if an anima opens up by some miracle."

Her eyes widened. Not because of the choices given to her, but because she was finally aware enough. She knew that voice. She had known that voice for thirteen years. Tears slowly trickled down her face. She couldn't understand why. She hated this woman, and yet, when she remembered what she saw before waking up, she couldn't help her tears.

Suddenly, a roar like no other was heard. And the woman smiled.

"Of course, even if you wanted to die, I wouldn't allow it."

The few clouds that were above them began to act up. The woman stood up, put the Ten Commandments in Erza's hand and told her, "Don't let go."

She untied Hughes, wondering if he was dead, since he hadn't uttered a sound at all.

"I'll be taking this troublemaker back to the Palace. I wonder how everyone's doing. Seven years is a long time."

She turned back and looked at Erza and Lucy.

"Take care of her for me, would you? I know I haven't been the best mother, but I still love you, Erza," she smiled as she turned around and waved goodbye with the back of her hand.

Before Erza could call out to her, exhaustion took over and her eyes were blinded by a very strong light.

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**I hope you liked reading the chapter. The last one should be uploaded in about less than an hour hopefully. **


	16. What is Love?

**There we have it. The final chapter. There is a very high chance that I'll be writing a sequel to this in the upcoming year, so I hope you keep an eye out for it! It was a fun 15 weeks.**

**Now then, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Lucy?! Lucy, where'd you go?!" Erza called out on the streets of Magnolia after realizing Ashley had vanished.

_Great. First that weird dream and now Ashley's run off._

"Erza-san!"

"Wendy? Carla? What are you doing out this late?"

"We were just on our way back to Fairy Hills from the Guild, what about you?"

"I seem to have lost sight of Ashley."

"I'm more than certain that we saw her running into the forest," Carla replied.

"Hey, Erza-san...Don't you think the clouds above the forest look weird?" Wendy asked while looking up.

_Those clouds..._

Erza's eyes widened as she made haste to the forest.

"Erza-san, please wait! You're going too fast... Oh my...Is that..-"

"Lucy!" Erza quickly ran towards her.

"Lucy. Lucy! Wake up!"

"Mmm," Lucy slowly opened her eyes, being greeted by an unexpected view.

"Erza?" She blinked a bit until her vision adjusted itself, "Erza!" she exclaimed.

"Lucy! It's...It's really you..." Erza held onto her, relieved at her return.

The celestial mage let herself be embraced.

_Erza...I'm really back, aren't I..._

"Wait..."

Erza let go of Lucy, who gently pushed her away.

The blonde looked around as if looking for something...someone.

She got up, frantically looking around.

"Lucy-san, what's wrong? What are you looking for?" Wendy innocently asked.

"Where is she?!"

"Lucy, unless you tell us who you're looking for, we can't help you," Carla responded.

"My counterpart," Erza answered as she helped Lucy search.

An odd looking shape caught Erza's eye in the darkness. She slowly walked towards it.

"Well, this is a nostalgic view, isn't it, Knightwalker?"

Lucy heard the requip mage and ran over to her as fast as she could.

The knight was on her stomach and heaving rather strongly. Lucy turned her on her back with Erza's help.

"Wendy! Can you please take a look at her?" Lucy begged her younger friend.

"I'll see what I can do!" Wendy ran up to the heaving knight.

"Erza..." Lucy stayed close to her knight.

The exhausted Erza looked up at Lucy, "S...spear."

Lucy quickly shot up, knowing what Erza was looking for.

Wendy was a bit sceptical. The last time she had seen this woman, they were enemies. And now, one of her closest friends was asking her to heal this woman. On the bright side, she had Erza next to her, so she knew she was safe. On the other hand though, she felt awful for the thoughts going through her mind. Lucy clearly trusted Knightwalker.

"Her lungs are a mess..." Wendy whispered.

"Can you do anything about it?" The redheaded mage asked.

Wendy nodded, "I can heal her lungs, yes. But I don't know what to do about her disease. My magic seems ineffective..."

"Alright. Take care of her lungs. I'll take her to Porlyusica afterwards."

Lucy came back covered in dirt.

"I found it!"

"Lucy-san! Are you alright?! You're a mess!"

"Haha, no worries. I just slipped a little. How is she doing?"

"I've healed her lungs as best I can."

She wasn't lying. Erza was able to take a deep breath for once. Lucy noticed that she looked more alive as well.

The blonde let the spear fall out of her hand and fell to her knees, unable to control herself. She held onto Erza who had just begun to sit up.

"Lucy...I'm alright."

The blonde didn't listen. She kept crying, her grip getting tighter

"It's ok. See? I'm perfectly fine!"

Lucy wouldn't listen to Erza.

"I'm fine..."

Erza held onto Lucy, trying to hide her own tears. She slowly pushed her away, so they could face each other. The redhead gently brought their lips together.

Wendy looked away blushing, while Scarlet's eyes glistened.

"I think we should get going," Carla said the awkwardness of the moment too much for her. "Wendy's done the best she can."

Scarlet nodded, thanking them. "Can you two make it back on your own?"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Carla said as she grabbed Wendy and flew away, much to the Sky Sorceress' chagrin.

"Ahem," the Requip mage walked over to the two on the ground and pried their faces apart.

"What on earth are you-?! Unhand me Scarlet!"

The mage carried her in bridal fashion. She motioned Lucy to grab the Ten Commandments and follow her.

"Stop moving. I don't want to drop you."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at this situation. Hearing the blonde's laughter, both Erzas let out a small smile.

"Erza, are we going to Porlyusica's? This late? Isn't that a bit...dangerous?"

_I wonder if Ashley safely returned to Edolas. I can only hope so._

"Erza?"

_I'm so glad Lucy's back. I'm not sure what I think of her relationship with Knightwalker...But I can't really be one to talk about relationships. After all...Mine is a mess. Well, can I even call it a relationship?_

"Erza? Hello? Earth to Erza."

Lucy waved in front of Erza.

"Oh, sorry. Did you say something?"

"We're here. Time to get eaten alive."

"No worries, no worries. She'll find this interesting."

Erza motioned for Lucy to knock on the door.

Three knocks and no answer.

"I know you're in there! You never leave this place! Try knocking again."

Another three knocks.

"This is an emergency! Open up, Porlyusica-san!"

The door suddenly flung very violently.

"DO YOU REALIZE HOW LATE IT- Oh great. There are two of them now."

Knightwalker couldn't help but stare at this strange woman.

"Stupid humans. What do you want? Are you sick again?"

"I'm fine. Thank you by the way. It's her I'm worried about."

Porlyusica didn't want to deal with such things this late into the night but she knew they wouldn't go away. She waved them in.

Erza laid her counterpart on Porlyusica's bed.

"Wendy said her lungs were in pretty bad shape and she has a disease that she wasn't able to heal."

One look was all Porlyusica needed to figure out what Erza had. She walked to her cabinet and took out a glass jar that contained several hundreds of small green coloured pills. She poured a good amount into a small pouch and gave it to Knightwalker.

"There are two things you have to do," she said, walking closer to the knight. "You have to take one of these every day, preferably for at least a year. And you have to move away from the city."

"What do you mean by move away from the city?" Knightwalker asked.

"I mean, you're better off living in places with clean air for your lungs to fully recover. Far away from towns and cities."

"As in...She can't stay with me?" Lucy let out quietly.

"Girl, are you deaf?"

Lucy looked down saddened.

"You're better off in the mountains. The air there is as clean as it can get."

"I guess there is no helping it," Knightwalker said, putting a hand on Lucy's head.

"Erza...I know you don't want to be here, but-"

Erza rattled Lucy's hair, "It's not like I have a choice. If I stayed there, I wouldn't be alive right now. I'll just have to get used to all of this," she said smiling.

"Do you two want to come stay at the dorms tonight?"

Lucy shook her head, "It's alright. I'll take her to my apartment."

"Are you done?"

Knightwalker turned to Porlyusica. She realized the older woman had intended to be sleeping by now.

"I apologize for barging in so late at night. We were just on our way out. Thank you for your help."

As Knightwalker made her way out of Porlyusica's house, Scarlet and Lucy followed suit, with the blonde thanking Porlyusica before leaving.

They silently made their way in front of Lucy's apartment.

"Levy kept it clean while you were gone," Erza said.

"I'll have to thank her when I see her tomorrow."

"I'm glad you're back, Lucy. We have a lot to catch up on tomorrow."

Lucy smiled and nodded, "I'm glad to be back, Erza."

"Have a goodnight," Erza said as she waved them both goodbye and made her way back to the dorms.

Lucy and Erza made their way up. Once in her room, Lucy flopped on the bed, commenting on how much she had missed its softness.

Erza placed her Ten Commandments near the door and made her way around the small room. Her interest peaked when she noticed a pile of papers on Lucy's desk.

She started reading when she noticed it was the draft to a story.

"Erza?"

"Mmm?"

"What are you doing?"

Lucy looked up from snuggling her pillow to Erza, who was still engrossed in the story.

"This is an interesting story. Is it about Scarlet?"

The moment Erza said that, Lucy realized what she was reading. She jumped off of her bed and quickly made her way to the redhead, trying to snatch the papers from her.

"You can't read that!"

"But I'm already reading it."

"Give it back!"

Letting out a smile, Erza gave the papers back to Lucy.

The blonde didn't expect to win that easily. She also mentally noted that she had to get rid of that draft.

"I'm going to take a bath. Do you want to accompany me?"

Lucy blushed.

"Why are you blushing? We've seen each other naked on multiple occasions."

That was true. But this felt different. Lucy was finally back home. With Erza.

She walked towards Erza and wrapped her arms around the older girl's waist, resting her head on her chest.

"Erza..."

Suddenly, Erza whisked Lucy off of her feet and into her arms, making her way to the bathroom.

"It feels good to have most of my strength back," she said with a smile as she put Lucy down in front of the bath.

Lucy turned on the water and let it fill the bath as they took their clothes off.

After washing their bodies, they soaked in the warm bath water.

"This feels nice," Erza whispered quietly, holding Lucy from behind.

When Lucy was quiet, Erza moved her head a bit and noticed the girl had fallen asleep.

Letting out a smile, she gently maneuvered so that she could get out of the bath, without waking the girl. She drained the water, dried herself with a towel, and put a new one on Lucy, carrying her out of the bath and onto her bed.

"Erza?"

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

The sleepy Lucy shook her head as Erza made her way into the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. That friend of yours, she's a miracle worker. My wounds are healed, and I haven't had a cough at all since I got here."

Smiling, Lucy mumbled, "Mmm, that's good to hear," as she snuggled closer to Erza, who covered them with a blanket.

"Erza...I love you," Lucy whispered as she drifted off to sleep once more.

"I love you too, Lucy," Erza responded, kissing her forehead.

_It's odd. My life made a complete 180 in two weeks. I was misguided ever since mother left...and yet now...because of her and Lucy, I have a chance to restart anew. As accursed as I thought I was, here I am now. Whatever it was that brought you to Edolas, Lucy, I should be thankful. And whatever it was that brought us to Earthland...I should be thankful to as well. I wonder if mother said anything to you while I was unconscious. It wouldn't hurt to ask you in the morning. Actually..._

Erza looked at the sleeping Lucy who was mumbling her name.

_...That may not matter much anymore, as I've found the only answer I was missing._

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the fic. I must say I enjoyed reading all of your reviews. Thanks a lot you guys. Hopefully, you'll all come back to read the sequel sometime next year.**


	17. Epilogue : A New Life

**A/N: **Welcome back guys! Just for one chapter. I found it an obligatory must to write an epilogue. Now, I'll admit it up front. Nothing exactly noteworthy happens, aside from some lolz and "awww"s but certain elements tie in with the sequel so its worth the read. Though a part of me was uncertain because some of this felt a tad OOC, I decided to give myself some leeway. And hey, it's not like this takes place on the next morning!

A small note: The S class arc still hasn't happened.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Mmm..." Erza slowly opened her eyes to the rays of the sun waking her.

"Good morning," her lover whispered looking down at her with a smile.

The redhead moved her right arm from under the covers and cupped Lucy's cheek, coming up to kiss her. "Good morning, Lucy." She let herself back down on the bed, bringing Lucy to rest on her chest. It felt right. Waking up to Lucy, having her in her arms, smiling, laughing. It all felt right, and she loved it. It had only been two weeks since she'd arrived at Earthland. And yet, strangely, she felt like she had been there forever. Regardless of her past actions, Fairy Tail had forgiven her, and treated her like family. Well, even so, that didn't mean it hadn't felt awkward.

"Erza...I'm hungry," Lucy spoke up, tracing circles on Erza's stomach, bringing her out of her mind.

Looking at the younger girl, Erza let out peals of laughter when she heard the girl's stomach protesting. Blushing, Lucy poked Erza's cheek and looked away. In one quick motion, the redhead was on top of the blonde with a massive smile. Lucy couldn't control herself. She let go and started laughing. Erza joined her. If someone had walked past and overheard them, they would assume the two were a bit deranged. Not like either of them cared. They were both happy and equally content. Of course, there was one thing Lucy was dying to ask Erza, but she thought it might be a bit too early. Levy had encouraged her to talk to Erza about it, but not knowing how the redhead would respond had made her a bit uneasy.

"What do you feel like eating?" This time it was Lucy's turn to be brought back. "What?" She asked not having heard. "I asked what you feel like eating." Lucy was tempted to say "you". But there was no way for her to be that forward. She made a mental note to ask Cana how to be more assertive. "Let's go to the guild! I'm sure we can have Mira cook something for us."

Erza crawled off Lucy and gathered her clothes from the floor. "I thought she was in charge of the bar..."

"Mhm, she is. But we also have a kitchen in the back!" The young mage let out as she sprawled herself across the bed, staring intently at the redhead.

"Honestly. We've spent nearly all our time at the guild and there are still so many places I haven't seen," Erza wore her underwear and bra but stopped moving when she felt Lucy's arms around her waist, as she left small pecks on her shoulder blades. "Lucy," taking Lucy's arms off of her, she turned around and embraced her, putting one hand on the blonde's head and the other on the small of her back. Lucy nuzzled into the neck of the one person she felt safest with, hearing a silent sigh come out of her lips. If Erza's hands hadn't moved from their respective places, Lucy felt she could have fallen asleep where she stood.

"Come on. I need some fresh air."

Erza continued dressing herself as Lucy stared with an odd face. "What's wrong?" Erza tilted her head when she noticed Lucy wasn't getting dressed. "...You live in the mountains...You're surrounded by trees and clean air."

"Yes, and?" she sat down at the edge of the bed, putting her stockings on.

"Aaanddd," Lucy got behind her, wrapping her arms around the redhead's neck, resting her head on her shoulder. "Is that not enough fresh air?" Erza placed her hand on Lucy's and began to stroke it with her thumb. When the redhead was quiet for a few minutes, Lucy assumed she was reminiscing. Kissing the side of her lover's head, she let go and got up. It was her time to get dressed.

"Erza...Are you sure you're alright living here?" Lucy looked around the space as she dressed herself. "You don't really have to stay here if you don't want to." It was a single spacious room, that looked nearly identical to Porlyusica's in terms of furniture. A bed at the corner in front of one of two windows, a small desk on the other side, with armor and weapons next to it. Sparse, really. However, since she spent most of her time with Lucy, she felt what she had was enough. "I'm sure, Lucy. Plus, your friends helped build it. I don't think they'd be too happy if we tore it down or I stopped using it."

"They're your friends too..." the blonde whispered so quietly that Erza didn't hear.

"Are you ready?" Erza asked as she looked to Lucy. Nodding, the blonde smiled, and let out "Yeah! Let's go! I'm starving."

* * *

"Why do you have to take your Ten Commandments with you everywhere we go?"

"Why do you have to take your keys with you everywhere we go?"

Pouting, Lucy paced faster. She understood that they hadn't been together for too long, but Erza's personality change whenever they went out was uncalled for! She acted as though Lucy was a fragile being in need of constant protection. She wasn't a knight anymore! She was just a regular person living in Fiore! Though Erza was very loving and kind when they were alone, she rarely showed it outside. She either acted indifferent or cold to people who weren't Lucy. Though the blonde had to admit she was trying her best to get along with Fairy Tail. But Erza's past history had made it awkward. Well, it was more like Erza had decided to make it awkward for herself. It didn't help that she felt the need to compete with Scarlet in everything. Lucy remembered Levy's comment on how Scarlet used to be like that too. Well, the needlessly cold part at least. Sighing loudly, the blonde wondered if Knightwalker needed to go through something like what Scarlet did at the Tower of Paradise.

"That's unbecoming of you," Erza let out from behind her. Lucy turned around and stuck her tongue out to which Erza made a surprised face. "Lucy, slow down a bit!" The moment Erza called out to her, something hit her, falling to the rocky ground. Looking down, she saw a girl not older than eight, rubbing her head. Kneeling on one leg, she took her hand out, "Are you alright? Did that hurt?" The child inspected her. The moment she saw her spear, she grinned, nodding and taking her hand. "This isn't enough to hurt me!" Erza let out a smile. The girl was trying very hard not to cry. "Well then, you're a big girl aren't you?" "Yep! Thanks, um...Miss!" Quietly laughing, the redhead said, "You can call me Erza." "Erza...?" "That's right." "As in...THE Erza? Titania?!" Erza was surprised at herself. It might have been the ignorance of the child, but she wasn't angry. There weren't any particular emotions going through her at the moment. She shook her head. "No. You could say...We're somewhat related, though."

The young girl gasped, "That's incredible! She's awesome isn't she?!"

"Yes. She is," Erza smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I have to go or else Byro-sama will scold me again!"

"Byro?" Erza let out softly. However, before she had a chance to ask anything, the girl was already running away. "It was nice to meet you onee-chan! I'm Coco by the way!"

"Eh...?" Erza stared for a few seconds where the girl had run off. "Do you think that was the Coco of this world?" Turning to the voice she saw a curious Lucy. "You were awfully kind to her. Erza, do you like kids?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," she murmured, looking around her. Standing next to the redhead, Lucy let out an innocent question, "Do you want kids?"

The moment she heard it, Erza's head languidly turned towards Lucy. She had no idea what to make of her question, and her thoughts were impossible to discern. Trying to figure out what Lucy really wanted to know, Erza's face flushed and she stumbled on her words. Frustration built up and she charged ahead, leaving Lucy behind, trying to catch up.

"Erza! Waiiiit! I'm sorry! It was just a question!"

* * *

As she was mumbling to herself, while taking small sips of the orange juice Mirajane had just put in front of her, a firm hand landed on her shoulder and the owner spoke up.

"Knightwalker! I'm surprised Lucy's not with you," Natsu let out his signature grin as he sat down on the stool next to hers.

"She's on her way," Erza let out flatly. Sweating at the redhead's cold reception, Natsu tried to turn the situation into his favour.

"So, you need to find a job soon right? You've only been here two weeks, but everyone needs money," when he noticed Erza's interested had peaked, if even a little, he continued, "Why don't you go out on a job with us? Lucy would love it and with two Erzas, we could get the job done in no time!"

"Natsu," he turned his head to Mira. "That's not possible. Erza-san isn't part of Fairy Tail. She can't go completing jobs assigned to the guild." Ever since Knightwalker's appearance, Mirajane had decided that the best way to distinguish the two would be to call the "new" Erza, Erza-san. She didn't want to make her feel neglected by calling her by her last name. Plus, she had known Scarlet ever since they were kids and it wasn't as though she had ever called her "-san". It felt like an easy way to distinguish the two.

"Eeeh?! Who cares about those things! You shoulda' seen her! She's freaking stron-OUCH! Hey! That hurt!"

"Stop being an idiot Natsu." Gray landed another blow on his head. "We really don't need problems with the council now of all times. It doesn't help that Erza nearly threatened them when Lucy was in Edolas."

A second later, both the aforementioned showed up together. Erza had just finished a solo-job. Lucy was heaving madly as she slowly crawled towards Knightwalker. Resting her head on the redhead's lap, she let out in between breaths, "That...hah, hah, was...hah, uncalled...for...hah, hah." She climbed on the free stool next to her and motioned Mira for water and food. Once she had calmed down, Natsu continued, as Scarlet made her way to Makarov, delivering news of her job.

"So, what do you say Erza?"

Finishing her drink in one big gulp, she responded with a clear, "No thanks. Not interested. "

"Come on! Who cares about the council, we'll take care of them!" Natsu was close to begging.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Lucy asked curiously, munching on a piece of toast.

"It's nothing," Erza replied, steering Lucy's fork-filled hand in her direction, biting the piece of scrambled egg on it. "You don't deserve Mira's food! Hmph!" She turned her back to the redhead, protecting her plate. Her behaviour made Erza smile quietly. Her smile however, was quickly replaced by a glare, when Natsu kept insisting. In one swift motion, she grabbed him by his scarf and whispered venomously, "Never mention this in front of Lucy. Is that clear?"

Letting out a whimper, Natsu nodded at least ten times. When she let go of him, he whispered to an equally terrified Gray how two Erzas may be better than one, but they are also twice as scary.

* * *

The day dragged on, until nightfall hit. Lucy and Erza decided to call it a day, and bid goodnight to the few remaining at the guild.

"Maybe you should stay the night at my place this time. A shower would be nice too!" enthusiastically, she wrapped herself around Erza's arm as they made their way down the streets of Magnolia.

"Sure. But I shouldn't be staying in the city for too long," Lucy only squeezed tighter as they walked under the starry sky, making their way to her apartment. After their unfortunately separate and uneventful baths, they sat, snuggling, on the floor with their backs touching the bed, Erza's arm holding Lucy close. They were both slowly drifting off to sleep.

"You ran away, but, I'll ask again you know! Sometime soon," the young celestial mage yawned as she thought back to her question.

"Let me ask you then. Lucy, do you want children?" Lucy shifted a bit, and looked at Erza with a loving smile. "Only if you do," she whispered. Erza quickly averted her gaze, looking down at the floor, flushing silently. Finding this extremely adorable, Lucy gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Though Erza had only arrived in Earthland two weeks prior, they had gone through so much on Lucy's second unexpected trip to Edolas. And she didn't regret it one bit. She wondered how much Erza missed the people she had to let go of, but she was glad that in the end, the redhead had chosen her. She loved Erza and wanted to do everything she could to make the ex-knight happy.

"I... I think I'll join the army," Erza spoke after a minute of silence.

This statement woke Lucy up, even if just slightly. "Why?" was all she was able to say.

"I've been part of the army all my life. I guess it's a calling of sorts? I'm not sure. But if I'm to live comfortably in this world, I need income. Or at least a job of some sort. A way to make some money."

"And...You think joining the army is the answer?" Lucy knew it was time to ask. She didn't want Erza joining the army. She wanted something else. Something more familial. Before Erza could respond, Lucy looked her straight in the eyes, summoned the courage she needed and spoke up, "Will you join Fairy Tail?"

Erza's eyes widened slightly. She wasn't sure if Natsu was trying to ask her in a roundabout way or not which had driven her mad. But Lucy clearly wasn't. Her eyes didn't waver. She wanted Erza to join Fairy Tail and she was sure of it.

"You're a mage. Sure, you weren't born with magic in you, but you've mastered the Ten Commandments! And it will always have magic in it now that it's in this world. You can join a guild. Have a team. Take on jobs!"

Kissing Lucy's head, she whispered gently, "Thank you, Lucy. But, I can't. Not yet anyways. This is all...just going a bit too fast for me. It was only a while ago that I was hunting down and killing mages. You can't expect me to become one in the blink of an eye," she cupped the blonde's cheek and continued. "I know you want this. I can see it in your eyes. And all I want is for you to be happy. The best I can do right now is promise you that I'll think about it. How does that sound?"

The celestial mage smiled in understanding, "It sounds better than a no at least." Erza freed herself from the girl and got up, stretching briefly as Lucy looked up. She walked two short steps, bent down slightly and wrapped one arm behind Lucy's back and another under her legs, lifting her bridally, however did not take her to bed.

Lucy swaddled Erza's neck with her arms and kissed her soft lips. "I promise I'll think about it," Erza repeated. "I know. I know," Lucy whispered on her lips. "You wouldn't say it otherwise." She kissed the redhead once more as Erza slowly tucked the two of them in bed.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you liked it. Well, even if you didn't, do let me know why!

The sequel is still in planning stages, though I really hope you stay tuned and look out for it. Because I'm as excited as you guys are!

I forgot to mention that I'm rewriting the chapters. I'm not changing the development and events, just adding more description and depth to them since they're rather lacking. My profile will let you know which chapters have been reuploaded, in case you want to go through them once more :) Have a good one, peeps!


	18. Omake 1: Proving Them Wrong!

**A/N: **Hey there! I betcha none of you expected this! Well, I'm back to this fic for about 4-5 more chapters. The upcoming chapters are omake/specials revolving around Lucy & Knightwalker.

In this one, they watch a pretty generic horror movie.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Do we really have to do this?" Erza let out as she put the disc into the player.

"Yes! I'm going to prove everyone wrong," Lucy patted next to her on her bed as she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

Lucy had only just bought one, and this was mainly because Erza occasionally spent the night at her apartment, instead of going all the way back to the mountains. The knight wasn't much of an avid reader, and preferred to settle back on the floor or sprawl herself on the bed and watch senseless action or pointless drama. At first, Lucy hadn't noticed. Erza had started to come over to stay the night more often. In the beginning, it was once or twice per week, then it went to three to four times per week, and it had nearly been a month since she had arrived. The blonde concluded that Erza was in fact lonely when she wasn't with her in the mountains. Of course, she didn't blame the redhead, she had no reason to! She loved being near Erza, and was saddened when they would part ways for the night.

Whenever Erza went over to Lucy's at night, they would snuggle as Lucy read or wrote. The former would occasionally get off the bed and start going around the blonde's room, completely obvious that she was bored. On rare occasions, Virgo would come out and they'd have illogical conversations about Lucy and her hobbies of punishing the celestial spirit. On even rarer occasions, Aquarius would join them; however, those times would quickly escalate into a fierce vocal battle between Knightwalker and the Water Bearer. Unfortunately, Aquarius would get tired of it and flood the room before leaving, as Erza would curse her dead.

In short, Lucy decided to save some money and get a television, which apparently came with a disc player. She was right. When she put it in her room, in front of the bed, Erza left her keys alone. She was glued to the strange machine the same way she was glued to her spear. She had once said that they didn't have such a machine in Edolas, so it was an interesting revelation to her. Finding that adorable, Lucy had wrapped her arms around her lover and they'd watched rather strange shows for the entire night.

However, that was beside the point. Earlier in the day, they were all in the guild conversing and having a good time when the topic suddenly went to horror films. Lucy wanted to slip away from the conversation. It wasn't that she was scared. She just didn't care! Of course, no one believed her. She had vehemently insisted that she wasn't afraid of horror films. Crazy psychotic murderers, ghosts, spirits, demons, gigantic spiders, none of those scared her. When they kept teasing her about how she was just pretending not to be scared, she went over to her lover who was conversing with her counterpart and begged her to vouch for her. Unfortunately for her, Knightwalker had laughed it off and mentioned one time when her young lover had woken her at night because "something" was inside her closet.

Lucy blushed severely when she remembered that that "something" was in fact just the heap of clothes she had thrown into the closet to make her room more presentable. As Mira was part of the earlier conversation, she went to Lucy and gave her a slim box. It was a horror film called "The House in the Hills" with an ominous looking house as the cover.

"Tell us all about it tomorrow," Mira had gently said with her usual smile.

They were now in Lucy's apartment, and Erza had just put the disc in with a sigh. Lucy didn't need to prove anything to anyone, and Erza wasn't a fan of horror. It wasn't that she was scared. She supposed she enjoyed the thrill, but the stories were so horrendously bad that she would have preferred watching children's cartoons. At least those taught you something aside from "Don't look back. Don't stay in one place. Don't open the door. Don't ask strangers for help." If she needed survival advice, she wouldn't be watching movies where everyone nearly died and the only person who stayed alive was the bimbo. Of course, she assumed there would be an occasional "good" horror movie, but she doubted what Mirajane had given Lucy was the case.

"I'll show them! I'm not scared of these types of movies!"

Erza sat next to her on the bed and started taking off her stockings.

"Lucy, we're the only ones in the room. You don't need to keep up the farce," she let out quietly as she turned to look at the blonde.

"You don't believe me either! You of all people! Fine, I'll prove you wrong too!" She huffed and sat back with the remote in her hand. "Turn the lights off!"

"Alright, alright," as Erza made her way to turn off the lights, the movie began to play.

"Come to bed. It's started," Lucy was already holding onto her pillow rather tightly.

"I'll be right there."

The blonde heard some rustling from the corner of the dark room where Erza stood. Paranoia kicked in, because her guild was full of pranksters.

"You better not be planning something to scare me!"

"Do you really think me so cruel?"

Lucy mumbled inaudibly and went back to the movie. A group of young adults had decided to go camping in a pretty uninhabited forest.

"Ha! This is supposed to be scary? It's stupid. These guys are stupid. Taking needless risks like that!" She was trying to hide the wavering and quivering in her voice as she spoke.

"Of course it's stupid. These types of movies are just guilty pleasures," Erza responded from the corner, adding "Do you want popcorn?"

"Mmm, sure. Bring me something to drink too please."

Nodding to the darkness, Erza made her way to the small kitchen.  
Purposefully taking her time, she came out ten minutes later, brought the small dinner table closer to the bed and put the drinks and popcorn bowl on it. Lucy had nearly killed her pillow but was strangely glued to the screen.

The scene was pretty generic. A blonde was hiding in the basement of the cabin and the killer was slowly making his way to her, for some reason knowing where she was. Of course her whimpering and gasping hadn't helped her.

Erza did a bit more rustling in the corner. It was as though she was waiting for something. Lucy let out a scream as the girl's throat was cut. It was the second murder, and tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.

Erza thought the timing was right. She climbed up the bed behind her lover and gently wrapped her arms around the younger girl's waist. Lucy managed to relax enough to whisper shyly, "You're naked..."

"That's right. I am," A quiet affirmative reply followed by a kiss on her lover's left shoulder. The reason was simple. Watching a horror movie with your terrified girlfriend? Snuggling and comforting would be present, and if one were lucky enough, something else would follow. Of course, as much as Erza wanted to have either hot, steamy, sweaty monkey sex or romantic, gentle sex, she mostly just wanted to feel Lucy on her as much as possible, while being able to comfort the girl if she freaked out.

Leaving those thoughts behind, as she was already nude and holding Lucy, she started to watch impassively, trying to mentally predict what was about to happen.

'_What an idiot. You're going to be trapped in there and he'll probably be behind you with his axe or knife.'_

Right as she thought that, the man came from the door behind the idiot character and beheaded him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"  
Lucy's screech destroyed Erza's ears who tightened her grasp on her overreacting girlfriend.

"Lucy, calm down."

"No! No no no no no no no! I don't want to watch this anymore!"

This was a pretty mediocre film in terms of fright. Erza wondered how the more "intense" ones would work out. But her lover was crying and that shattered her. She took the remote and closed the TV, turning Lucy around to face her.

"Calm down, please. None of that will be happening to you. Ever. You should already know that I would never let something like that happen to you."

Lucy held onto her naked lover, whimpering; "Now they're going to make fun of me again."

The redhead moved her head to the crook of her lover's neck and whispered, "I'll beat them up before they even think of it. And Lucy," she cupped her cheek, wiping the fresh tears away, "You have nothing to prove to anyone. Especially them."

The blonde looked at Erza and gave her a quick gentle kiss on the lips. "Will you stay the night?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

Shaking her head, Lucy held onto her lover tightly, resting her head on the latter's firm and very nude chest. "I'm very lucky to have you. I love you, Erza."

A few seconds passed with no response. Lucy looked up to Erza who let out a very uncharacteristic grin, "Does that mean we can watch Spears of War Part 3?"

Lucy smiled for a bit, until she let out a firm, "No."

Letting out a quiet laugh, Erza brought their lips a mere inch apart and whispered, "I love you too, Lucy."

* * *

**A/N: **If you expected detailed horror...I'm sorry? Haha. These omake are mostly fluff with cuddling, kissing, and then some. Maybe. Possibly!

Oh, I'll say it here too, in case some people still aren't sure.** Memoirs of a Hollow Woman** is not the sequel I've been telling you guys about. It's more of a spin-off sequel. I wrote on my profile that it's basically **What is Love? 1.5.** I'll probably release chapter 1 of the sequel around September, but no promises because it all depends on how fast I can finish and upload more of **Memoirs.**

Also, I've rewritten chapters 1-3 of this fic, if you want to go ahead and go through them once more. I'll repeat that the story hasn't changed. Details and development have just been added. The schedule is on my profile if you wish to be aware of the upload date for new rewrites. Shame that FF doesn't have an alert for that.

In any event, I hope you guys stay tuned for the rest of the omake/specials and read through **Memoirs!** You don't need to though, to understand the Sequel. Oh...And it's pretty depressing.

See you in about a week's time!


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